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NBA Power Rankings: Soaring Hawks

Brett Pollakoff — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Cavaliers, Celtics, Hawks, Lakers, Magic, Mavericks, Nuggets, Pacers, Suns, Trail Blazers, NBA Power Rankings

The Atlanta Hawks find themselves at the top of our rankings this week, thanks to a five-game winning streak against some strong competition -- a gritty overtime win over the Blazers and a road win in Boston were both impressive. Now, let's see if they can avoid the top-spot-jinx on Wednesday night, when they'll host Miami in a rematch of last year's first round playoff series. As for the other 29 teams? Read on to see how they stacked up.

1. Hawks (9-2) | Prev.: 5
Early front-runner for Sixth Man Award: Jamal Crawford. And by the way, who was Joe Johnson calling out earlier in the season and why? -- Matt Steinmetz
2. Suns (10-2) | Prev.: 2
Is there any other player in the league who can go 2-for-10 from the floor - which Nash did against Houston on Tuesday night - and still be the most influential player on the court? -- MS
3. Cavaliers (8-3) | Prev.: 12
The Cavs are still miles away from where they were last year, but who cares? They've won five in a row and eight of their last nine, and haven't missed a beat with Shaquille O'Neal sitting the last two with injury. Expect this team to continue picking up steam: four of their next five opponents are currently under .500. -- Matt Watson
4. Nuggets (8-3) | Prev.: 8
Carmelo Anthony dances with the Gods and charms their eyelids to slumber. Also, this Birdman blonde goatee thing he's growing is creeping me out. In conclusion, this team's really good. -- Matt Moore
5. Lakers (8-3) | Prev.: 1
Nothing to see here, people. Move along. Lakers are doing just fine, thank you - 8-3 and Pau Gasol hasn't even played a game yet. -- MS
6. Mavericks (8-3) | Prev.: 6
The Mavericks aren't considered elite at the moment, and we're struggling to figure out why. Victories over the Lakers and Rockets, and the fifth highest point differential in the league all have led to an 8-3 record. The opening night what the what loss to the surprisingly miserable Wizards doesn't look great, nor does the utter collapse against the Spurs without Duncan and Parker inspire confidence. But in the interim, Dirk Nowitzki's playing like the elite player he is, Jason Kidd is ripping out assists at a high rate, and Rodrigue Beaubois is a surprisingly talented rookie at both ends of the floor. Why are we always surprised at Dallas? -- MM
7. Magic (8-3) | Prev.: 9
Just as Rashard Lewis returns from suspension, Jameer Nelson goes down with a knee injury. He's expected back in 4-6 weeks, but that could put is into the new year before we get to see Orlando begin to try to work on its chemistry issues. -- BP

8. Celtics (8-3) | Prev.: 3
The blistering start with the return of Kevin Garnett and addition of Rasheed Wallace has begotten a hiccup of sorts, with losses to the Hawks and Pacers. The other Celtics loss came at the hands of the sizzling Suns, and yes, one of these teams is not like the other. Paul Pierce is banged up, and needless to say his health is vital for this team's offense. -- Tom Ziller
9. Blazers (8-4) | Prev.: 7
Portland has improved with every game, and has become a defensive force. Greg Oden is finally living up to his potential, even if it's only on the defensive side of the ball. If Nate McMillan can figure out how to better work in Andre Miller, this team looks primed for a deep, deep run in the playoffs and ready to take their place as the Lakers' heir apparent. Denver might have something to say about that, however. -- MM

10. Pacers (5-3) | Prev.: 24
There's two ways to look at Indiana's five-game winning streak. On the one hand, they've feasted on some cupcakes with a combined 14-37 record -- their home victory over the Celtics was their only opponent in that span with a winning record. That said, you play the games that are on the schedule, and the Pacers have answered the call with flair, winning by an average of nearly 12 points a game. Danny Granger remains one of the most underrated stars in the game, and Roy Hibbert is emerging into a double-double machine. -- MW

11. Rockets (6-5) | Prev.: 13
The John McClane of the NBA. There's no raucous feel-good attitude to this team. They're not pleasantly surprised when their offense lets them outscore a team or two. They expect to win every single game and kill themselves in the pursuit of that goal. And keep this in mind, the Rockets have yet to lose to a sub-.500 team, and two of their losses (Portland and LA) were followed by wins over those same teams. "Yippee ki-yay, Southwest Division." -- MM

12. Bulls (6-4) | Prev.: 10
The Bulls have an intriguing mix of veterans and youth -- and sure, to his credit, Vinny Del Negro hasn't been awful -- but there's just one glaring concern: they simply can't score, at least not on a consistent basis. It's a rare night the Bulls are outworked, but can they keep up their stamina while spending the next two weeks on the road on their cursed circus trip? A decade-long sample size suggests not: over the last 10 years, the Bulls have gone 9-56 on the annual early-season rite of passage. -- MW

13. Bucks (5-3) | Prev.: 15
Remember all the questions surrounding Brandon Jennings on draft day? How he watched his name called from a hotel room because none of the teams in the lottery could guarantee he wouldn't be the last in the green room? He's needed fewer than 10 games to make a lot of seasoned execs turn red -- even before his 55-point outburst made him a household name. Forget Rookie of the Year -- at this point in the (still extremely) young season, Jennings has to be included in the MVP conversation. -- MW

14. Thunder (6-5) | Prev.: 14
Don't look now, but the Thunder are still above .500 in the middle of November. Not exactly the biggest feat, but considering wins over the Spurs, Heat, and the Magic, the potential is there for this team to make a playoff run. But they've got to get better consistency from the Big 3 (Durant, Green, Westbrook), and quit losing silly games like Sunday's banana-peel blooper against the Clippers. -- MM

15. Heat (7-3) | Prev.: 4
Dwyane Wade saved the day when the team was short-handed against the Nets, but Miami was at full strength when they lost the next time out to the Thunder. The fact that no one's showing up to their home games definitely isn't helping the Heat take care of business against teams they should beat, and that situation isn't likely to change anytime soon. -- BP

16. Raptors (5-6) | Prev.: 16
Every game the Raptors lose seems like a waste of a superlative effort by Chris Bosh, the league's best big man early this season. Toronto has a dominant offense, capable of scoring on any team in the league. But the defense is as bad as ever: the team does everything poorly. Shooting defense? Awful. Opponent turnover rate? Awful. Defensive rebounding? Awful. Opponent free throw rate? Awful. Reggie Evans can help whenever he makes his season debut (he sprained a foot in preseason), but he won't be able to fix all these problems. That's problematic, if you figure the offense won't keep clicking like this forever. -- TZ

17. Kings (5-5) | Prev.: 20
Sacramento may be middle of the pack when it comes to these power rankings, but the Kings are among the NBA's elite when it comes to teams that play hard. All in all, a nice start to the Paul Westphal era. -- MS

18. Spurs (4-4) | Prev.: 11
Feast or famine. Win over the Mavericks or loss to the Thunder. Struggling to find an identity with the All-Stars or playing with fire without them. The Spurs are just weird right now. Every time they seem to be figuring things out (wins over Toronto and Mavericks in laughers), they turn around and do something like lose at home to the Thunder. But at least everyone's healthy...ish. For now. Eeeeee. -- MM

19. Pistons (5-6) | Prev.: 18
Considering they've played the last nine games without two veteran starters, the new-look Pistons are actually hanging in there. You want to talk about depth? Four different players have taken turns as the high scorer in the last four games. Will Bynum, who opened the year as the fourth guard, has averaged nearly 22 points a game in the last four while emerging as the team's best playmaker. So what's the bad news? This roster still needs another scoring big man to be taken seriously. Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince need to hurry back -- so Joe Dumars can put them on the trading block. -- MW

20. Jazz (4-6) | Prev.: 17
Fear for the Jazz. They're still dangerous and have time to get it together, but this team is a mess in terms of chemistry, effort, and focus. Sloan needs to do something to regain his team's attention. -- MM

21. 76ers (4-6) | Prev.: 23
The surprising problem for the 76ers, who have typically started slowly during the Andre Iguodala era, has been its defense, which doesn't reflect well on coach Eddie Jordan. Opponents are shooting an absurd 41 percent from three against Philly -- that figure was closer to league average (36.7 percent) last season. The team is still generating turnovers, but the perimeter players have apparently forgotten to stick a hand in the shooters' faces. Bummer, since the Sixers (despite adding designated sniper Jason Kapono) can't make it up with threes of their own. -- TZ

22. Bobcats (3-7) | Prev.: 19
Stephen Jackson, Boris Diaw and Gerald Wallace: Versatility or uniformity? Can't get that old Dylan lyric out of my head ... "... something is happening here but you don't know what it is ..." -- MS

23. Hornets (4-8) | Prev.: 21
From good, to bad, to worse, to oh noes, to "well, at least they beat the Clippers." The Hornets are in bad shape, with no real mercy in sight, and ownership is considering shipping newly acquired Emeka Okafor out of town, if you believe the reports. Scott's already gone, and Chris Paul's on the shelf. Long is not the word for what their season looks like. Agonizing. That's more like it. -- MM

24. Clippers (4-8) | Prev.: 22
Sure, everyone is waiting for Blake Griffin. But in the meantime, the Clippers really miss Eric Gordon. What's more, the Clippers are off to a terrible start at home (2-5). -- MS

25. Wizards (2-7) | Prev.: 25
Gilbert Arenas is back to being Agent Zero, and even has a Lil Penny-style video on his website to prove it. He's also said he'll begin doing the Twitter thing once he gets to a million followers, but Wizards fans would probably rather have some wins at this point than quirky quotes from their favorite player. Actually, scratch that: they're Wizards fans, so I've probably got that backwards. -- BP

26. Warriors (3-7) | Prev.: 26
Stephen Jackson's gone, Monta Ellis might be next and in the meantime Golden State is looking at this in the short-term: at Boston, vs. Portland, at Dallas, at San Antonio, vs. L.A. Lakers. -- MS

27. Grizzlies (2-8) | Prev.: 29
They replaced Allen Iverson who refused to come off the bench for them and then abandoned them, with Jamal Tinsley. I'm not even going to comment on that one. Just let that one stew in its own juices for a while. -- MM

28. Timberwolves (1-10) | Prev.: 27
Good news. Kevin Love is healing and the Wolves will likely have a return date on Friday after an X-Ray. Bad news. David Kahn seems to be already feeling the pressure for his point-guard splurges and the Rubio disaster. This franchise for all its excitement when Kahn was hired, somehow looks worse than it did under McHale. Yikes. -- MM

29. Knicks (1-9) | Prev.: 28
The Knicks truly couldn't be doing more to end the LeBron, Wade and Bosh speculation by Christmas. The team is awful and miserable after an awful and miserly summer. Sacrificing in the present for future success is obviously a world-worn strategy, but it's still little excuse for assembling so little talent and showing so little spirit. And the poor fans can't even root on John Wall! Sad. -- TZ

30. Nets (0-11) | Prev.: 30
Another 0-fer week for our heroic New Jersey Nets. This Saturday should provide a decent opportunity for Win No. 1: the Knicks are coming to town! And seriously, what a depressing affair that will be. Courtney Lee and Devin Harris may be back for that one; expect a full-on basketball war from the home team. -- TZ

NBA Power Rankings: Soaring Hawks originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stinkface Chronicles: Lawson Order

Rob Peterson — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:15:00 EST

Filed under: Cavaliers, Heat, Lakers, Nuggets, NBA Fans, NBA Videos

Some people never learn. D.J. Mbenga may be one of them.

Now, D.J. is a good guy and he makes a decent living as the backup center for world champion Los Angeles Lakers, but there's a reason he's a backup center. Besides a talent deficiency, Mbenga is not quick and therefore slow to rotate on help defense and recover on pick-and-rolls.

This often puts him in an awkward position, that position being Mbenga on a poster on his keister.

Such was the case again Friday when Nuggets rookie Ty Lawson went medieval on Mbenga.

(The pair of pliers and the blowtorch after the jump.)

Mbenga, Blake Griffin's foil in our first Stinkface Chronicles, now not only has the dubious distinction of being our first two-time dunk victim -- and the only one to be dunked on by rookies, who usually serve as the dunked upon -- but also he is the first to suffer from a relatively new affliction: triple-broadcast stinkface.

That's right, there are three YouTube-worthy clips of the barely 6-foot Lawson sticking that one-foot of difference between him and the 7-foot Mbenga right where the sun don't shine. To be fair, we need to call out Josh Powell as well, as he was also slow to check Lawson as he slalomed through the Lakers' defense.

But it was Mbenga with the foul and his taking the impromptu courtside seat that makes him the object of our breakdown.

Clip No. 1 -- ESPN

This was the broadcast most of the country saw as the Nuggets exacted a little early season revenge on the Lakers for last year's Western Conference final beat down with a 28-point win. But it was Lawson's late-game Stinkface that most people remember.

And for good reason, because Lawson did three amazing things in one play.

First, the drive. The Nuggets were already up 102-79 with less than 1:40 to go in the contest when Lawson used a soft pick on the left wing, crossed-over Mbenga and then drove his way to Stinkface immortality. Lawson had a step on Mbenga, who trailed the rookie into the lane.

At the nine-second mark of the video, the second amazing thing happened. Taking two steps after his dribble, Lawson launches himself from between the broken circle and the restricted area (LeBron James take-off territory) with Mbenga on his left. Ain't no stoppin' Lawson now, but Mbenga gallantly tries, fails.

And of course, the third amazing thing was the finish itself. Mbenga, using his longer frame, tries to come across Lawson's body to thwart the dunk attempt. Lawson, however, is too far gone and far too determined to let any mban get in his way. You know the rest: Mbenga gets a piece of Lawson, but not the ball and they tumble together to the court.

The whole sequence lasts for 14 seconds, but ESPN replayed it three times in the next 90 seconds and at the 27-second mark, a replay occurs in conjunction with one shown on the video board at the Pepsi Center. Listen to the crowd. It may be the best aural reaction to a dunk this season.

"Ohhhhhhhhhh!"

It sounds as if they've witnessed a Dumpster punch: something so wrong that they feel slightly guilty about taking pleasure at it having been perpetrated in their presence.

Then again, that's at the heart of a Stinkface philosophy: it's so right that someone was so wronged.

Of course, the Nuggets bench loved that a rookie delivered the goods other than the Krispy Kremes for a change. Kenyon Martin was as happy as if his mom dunked on Mark Cuban, Denver coach George Karl has a bemused look on his face and at the 1:15 mark, ESPN shows Carmelo Anthony making a classic stinkface. What's that smell? Nasty greatness, that's what that is.

Clip No. 2 -- Altitude

Altitude, the Nuggets' local broadcaster, also had the game. In the above clip (if you can make it through the first 13 seconds of Nuggets-fluff), analyst Scott Hastings screams: "Look at the bench. Look at the Nuggets' bench!"

Yes, look because Chauncey Billups can't bear to. Mr. Big Shot is so moved by Lawson's larceny of Mbenga's manhood, he has to cover his face with a towel. Chauncey's never dunked like that, and he has every right to live vicariously through his understudy.

Angle No. 1 v2.0 - NBA.com HD

And lest you think we're being too harsh with Mbenga, take it up with his teammates. Roll any of the three clips again and watch the fourth Laker on the bench. Please.

I don't know who it is (Ron-Ron? Mr. Kardashian?), but said Laker does the smelling salt-reaction (quick jerk of the head), turns away (Because he can't stand the sight of a teammate getting housed like that? Because he's laughing too hard?) and then leans across another Laker to grab Kobe Bryant's arm (Hold me!).

Hold me, indeed.

Dwyane Wade on Anderson Varejao

There are many things to appreciate about this one: Wade himself, that it's Varejao getting the brunt of it (I like Varejao, but it is fun to see him get legitimately run over instead of him flopping to the floor), that Varejao tries to block it, but doesn't come close, the normally sedate American Airlines Arena crowd popping up out of their seats as one and Marv Albert's call (which is instantly zero-summed by Reggie Miller's "analysis" -- Kodak moments are supposed to be good memories, not posterizations, Reg...) to name a few.

But the two best things happen quickly after Wade and Varejao hit the deck. Wade's dunk is so powerful, Varejao doubles over as if he's been socked in the gut. Look at how the Cav lands, jackknifed against the stanchion. He's lucky he didn't end up in Biscayne Bay.

Also, at the end, Wade "A.I.-ed" Andy. Remember when Allen Iverson (when he was good, and relevant) stepped over Tyronn Lue in Game 1 of the 2001 Finals? Wade does it to Varejao, but without the disdainful look and foot stomp.

That's OK. The dunk was enough of a statement.

Stinkface Chronicles: Lawson Order originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Allen Iverson Back To Denver? Karl Says It Could Happen

Chris Tomasson — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:18:00 EST

Filed under: Grizzlies, Nuggets

DENVER -- Allen Iverson back in Denver?

Don't completely rule it out. At least that's the word from Nuggets coach George Karl, who said Tuesday the team would consider bringing back the guard if there were to be an injury on his team.

"A.I. for us is an injury discussion,'' Karl said. "I don't think it's a discussion right now for us... But just say somehow (guard) Ty Lawson is out for the season, I think speed and quickness is what Ty gives us. A.I. would be on the list of speed and quickness.'

For now, though, Karl said the Nuggets aren't eyeing Iverson, who played for them from 2006-08, when he had his last two impressive NBA seasons.

More: Knicks a Possibility? | Circus Leaves Memphis | Fantasy Impact

"I think that I like my team right now,'' Karl said. "I don't think I want that type of, what would the phrase be, energy to be figuring out how to handle that energy.''

Iverson, 34, is on the verge of being waived by Memphis after he and team officials mutually agreed to terminate his contract. He will end up only getting a small portion of his $3 million seasonal salary.

Before the Grizzlies signed Iverson, Karl said the Nuggets had some discussions about bringing him back.

"I can't deny that we did have a conversation on A.I. this summer,'' Karl said.

Iverson's career has gone downhill since he was traded by the Nuggets to Detroit in November 2008. He complained about coming off the bench with the Pistons. Then, after signing with Memphis, he continued to complain about his role as a reserve, which resulted in his exit.

"I think he will,'' Karl said about whether Iverson again will play in the NBA. "A.I. is a smart player and he still has talent. Can he find a piece or a team that fits their puzzle and fits his puzzle?''

Karl, who was surprised at how short Iverson's tenure was in Memphis, believes Iverson would be most effective coming off the bench at this stage of his career.

"If you're playing from the bench, you get 15 to 20 minutes against second-tier players,'' Karl said. "It can sometimes make it easier... That man, if you give him situations where he can score, I think when he's 50 he's going to be able to score.''

Iverson averaged 26.4 points for the Nuggets in 2007-08. But he came down with some nagging injuries in training camp in the fall of 2008 and soon was traded to Detroit. He never again has been the same player.

"Maybe he slowed,'' Karl said of why Iverson has fallen off since leaving the Nuggets. "I don't know. We were playing in an offensive mode and an offensive system that maybe catered to him... It's true for every player that is probably over the age of 34. You got so many opinions. When he you have a bad game is it because you've slowed?... That's a case for a shooter when you're all of sudden not making shots. It all comes. When you get older and you don't maybe have a good game, you get scrutinized higher because maybe he's lost it.''

Also, Karl said Nuggets star forward Carmelo Anthony missed the morning shootaround due to a migraine headache. But he expects Anthony to play in Tuesday's home game against Toronto.

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com and on Twitter @christomasson.

Allen Iverson Back To Denver? Karl Says It Could Happen originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:18:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Defending Champs Fall in Conference Finals Rematch

Chris Tomasson — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:45:00 EST

Filed under: Cavaliers, Lakers, Magic, Nuggets

DENVER -- Final four week turned into a flop of finalists.

Meetings of last season's conference finalists got started Wednesday when Cleveland took a huge lead and clobbered defending East champion Orlando 102-93. An even bigger dismantling occurred Friday night at the Pepsi Center.

The way the Nuggets demolished the Lakers, you'd have thought they tried to smuggle coke into the building.

The Nuggets got some revenge against the defending West and NBA champions 105-79. It wasn't even that close.

"Hopefully, this is a big message, not just to the Lakers but to the whole NBA. We're a legit team,'' said Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony, who scored a game-high 25 points and outscored Lakers star Kobe Bryant 18-0 in the second half (no, that's not a misprint).

The message sent by the Nuggets, who led by as many as 29 points, was as loud as one of those air-raid sirens cities like to blast on the first Tuesday of every month.

The Cavaliers had dispatched a similar such message on Wednesday when they had no trouble taking host Orlando apart.

It must be said the Magic was without star forward Rashard Lewis, serving the ninth game of a 10-game NBA suspension to start the season. But it's doubtful Lewis would have made that much of a difference against a Cleveland team that led by as many as 22 points.

On Friday, the Lakers were without star forward Pau Gasol, who has yet to play this season due to a hamstring problem, and they had played the night before at home against Phoenix. But the absence of Gasol and the heaviness of legs didn't make for a 26-point swing.

"No excuse,'' said Bryant, who finished with 19 points. "They beat the hell out of us. I don't know if we had Pau it would have made any difference. If we hadn't have played back-to-back, it wouldn't have made any difference. They played extremely well.''

It wasn't surprising since the Nuggets have been salivating like Pavlov's dogs for 5 ½ months. That's when the Lakers defeated Denver 4-2 in the West final.

"It sat with me for a long time because I feel that we had a real good chance of beating those guys,'' said Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups. "You don't get those opportunities all the time. We just wanted to try to get back to that spot and try again.''

Denver literally threw two playoff games away against the Lakers thanks to wayward inbound passes. Forward Kenyon Martin said after the series he believed his Nuggets were the better team, and he repeated that throughout the offseason.

With that in mind, one would think Martin would have been gloating more than anyone Friday. But Martin knows the teams have three more regular-season meetings.

"It's just one win, that's all,'' Martin said. "Everybody is making a big deal about it. We needed to get a win after the road trip (that the Nuggets went 3-3 on, closing with an embarrassing loss at Milwaukee).''

Nevertheless, revenge can be powerful motivation. Consider how the Cavaliers steamed about their 4-2 East finals loss to the Magic all summer, and went out and got center Shaquille O'Neal to muscle with Orlando big man Dwight Howard.

However, the Nuggets, confident they had what it takes to battle the Lakers, didn't make any major moves. Well, check that. The draft-day trade that landed rookie point guard Ty Lawson is starting to look pretty major.

Lawson scored 13 points and handed out six assists in 22 minutes Friday. The 5-foot-11 Lawson had the highlight of the night in the second half when he threw down a dunk over Lakers 7-foot center D.J. Mbenga.

"By far,'' Lawson said of it being his best-ever dunk. "I'd dunked over a 6-10 guy before but never a 7-footer.''

Don't expect his Lakers teammates to be getting on Mbenga. Everybody on the team was embarrassed Friday.

Bryant, checked closely by Arron Afflalo, shot 0-of-4 while playing the entire third quarter and didn't play a second in the fourth. The game was over after the Nuggets unbelievably outscored the Lakers 29-8 in the third to break away from a 58-56 halftime lead.

"That was ugly,'' said Lakers center Andrew Bynum. "That was pretty bad basketball on our behalf.''

But Bynum still wasn't impressed enough to dub the Nuggets a rival. Before the game, Lakers coach Phil Jackson had said the same thing.

"I don't feel like it's a rivalry at all,'' Bynum said.

Bryant, though, was saying all the right things. He told the media afterward this series is indeed becoming a rivalry, and he congratulated Anthony on the court for his showing.

Anthony shot 11-of-20 and overcame foul trouble, which limited him to just 12 first-half minutes. The Lakers put defensive specialist Ron Artest on Anthony, who responded with a yawn.

"It's impossible to have a Melo stopper,'' said Anthony, who said before the game no player in the NBA has as much emphasis placed on slowing him down as he does. "That's just my confidence. When I'm out there on the court, you've got to feel like nobody can stop me one-on-one.''

The Lakers in the third quarter would have had a hard time stopping Joel Anthony, let alone Carmelo Anthony. In addition to the Denver star scoring 12 points, Nuggets reserve guard J.R. Smith scored eight of his 20 points.

"(The Lakers) are at the top of the mountain and we have to figure out how to get ready for the opportunity in May or June to try and knock them off the top of the mountain,'' said Nuggets coach George Karl.

Last anybody checked, the NBA wasn't handing out any championships in November. Now, it's time for Magic and Lakers players to start plotting their revenge.

The Lakers play host to Denver on Feb. 5 and Orlando travels to Cleveland on Feb. 11. So once again the NBA will have a final four week.

After what happened the first time around, it will be finalists fight back week.

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com and on Twitter @christomasson.

Defending Champs Fall in Conference Finals Rematch originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bynum Expects to be All-Star Starter

Chris Tomasson — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:30:00 EST

Filed under: Bulls, Cavaliers, Lakers, Nuggets, Suns, NBA All-Star Game

DENVER -- Andrew Bynum was talking to his brother early this week when he got the news.

Amare Stoudemire, despite being Phoenix's starting power forward, was listed on the All-Star ballot at center for the Western Conference. That happens to be the same position played by the Lakers' Bynum, and many had considered him the favorite to be the starter after Houston's Yao Ming was lost for the season due to injury and Shaquille O'Neal was traded from Phoenix to Cleveland of the East.

"I was definitely surprised,'' Bynum said in an interview with FanHouse about Stoudemire being listed at center even though he's started every game this season at forward, with Channing Frye having opened at center for the Suns.

But Bynum is determined not to let this ballot business keep him out of his first All-Star Game.

"I'm going to go out there and play the way I need to play,'' Bynum said. "I don't think (it will be hard to be named the starter) if I play well.''

Bynum has done that so far. Entering Friday's game at Denver, he was averaging 21.0 points and 11.3 rebounds, better than the 18.1 points and 7.9 rebounds Stoudemire is putting up.

But Bynum's stats figure to go down a bit after Lakers power forward Pau Gasol returns in a few weeks from a hamstring problem. And Stoudemire has proved to be quite popular before in the fan voting.

Stoudemire last season was named a West starting forward when he accumulated more than 1.46 million votes. Bynum was third among centers with more than 549,000 votes, but has improved greatly since last season, when he suffered a knee injury shortly after the final votes were announced and missed 2 ½ months.

"He looks so big,'' Nuggets coach George Karl said of Bynum, listed at 7-foot, 285 pounds. "I don't know if he grew. (The Lakers have) got another (key) piece.''

JORDAN'S NUMBER GETS LOTS OF DISCUSSION

Much of the discussion before Friday's game was about whether the NBA should retire No. 23 for all teams in honor of Michael Jordan. Cleveland's LeBron James, who wears No. 23, made that suggestion Thursday while saying he plans to switch to No. 6.

Lakers boss Phil Jackson, who coached Jordan to six NBA titles with Chicago in the 1990s, called James' idea "great,'' and said it would be like the NHL having retired No. 99 for Wayne Gretzky. But Jackson did acknowledge there would be ample debate.

"We haven't seen this happen in basketball so it's kind of unique,''he said. "It would maybe be a little step on the toes for a guy like Magic (Johnson) and (Larry) Bird, who made this era a bigger era that Michael could come in and dominate and he had a commercial appeal. But it's up to other people (whether James' idea is heeded).''

Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony is under contract with Brand Jordan. But he's not fully committed to James' suggestion.

"I don't have a problem with it,'' Anthony said. "But I don't wear No. 23 so it's kind of easy for me to say that. You ought to ask them who wear No. 23. It doesn't matter to me either way.''

Anthony jokingly was asked what it would take for his No. 15 to one day be considered for NBA-wide retirement.

"Six (titles),'' he cracked. "(Jordan) got six.''

Chris Tomasson can be reached at fanhouse.com and on Twitter @christomasson.

Bynum Expects to be All-Star Starter originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Josh Smith Path to Salvation: Who Should Convert?

Tom Ziller — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:30:00 EST

Filed under: Bobcats, Hawks, Heat, Nuggets, Warriors

Hawks buzzard Josh Smith has famously wasted quite a few Atlanta possessions over the years by taking ill-advised three-pointers. That phraseology is actually redundant when it comes to Smith: it would be considered ill to ever advise Smith to take a three.

Thankfully, someone showed Josh the light, and he hasn't attempted a trey all season. He convinces when he tells the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he hasn't even felt tempted to fire up a bomb. He found Basketball Jesus! Like a good son of the word, he should spread his experience. Which players would most benefit from a Brother Smith knock at the door?

Monta Ellis, G, Golden State. Ellis has a career three-point shooting mark of 29.1 percent. He has slowed his outside trigger this year, but averages 1.3 three attempts per game over his career.

Anthony Carter, PG, Denver. You may be interested to learn that Carter, who seems to fancy himself a designated gunner at times in Denver, has a career 23.9 percent mark from downtown. He took 217 threes over the previous two seasons, and hit only 66. Not a good look.

Gerald Wallace, F, Charlotte. Smith's kindred spirit has certainly backed off trey-shooting heights reached under Sam Vincent, but one three for Crash is one three too many. Incidentally, Wallace has hit exactly one three this year ... in 10 attempts.

And finally, Dwyane Wade, SG, Miami. Maybe it's sacrilege to suggest a superstar should abandon a shot as part-and-parcel to basketball as the three-point basket, but let me burn, brothers.

Wade is never going to learn how to consistently hit a three-pointer. He's a career 28.1 percent deep shooter, and last season he hit his peak of ... 31.7 percent. For a guy who gets to the rim at will, draws an unbelievable amount of fouls and hits two-pointers at an above-average rate, he needs to let the three go. (Of course, I write that after a game in which Wade hit three of six. C'est la vie.)

If Wade needs to pace himself on pace, there are better ways to use the rest possessions than by firing up threes. Like, almost anything short of handing the ball to the other team would be better. (That's only a small exaggeration.)

I never thought I'd be advising Dwyane Wade to take a page from Josh Smith's book, but there you go.

The Josh Smith Path to Salvation: Who Should Convert? originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Brad Miller Can't Beat the Buzzer

Brett Pollakoff — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:05:00 EST

Filed under: Bulls, Nuggets, NBA Last Night, NBA Videos

Great game in Chicago last night, where the Nuggets and the Bulls went down to the final ticks of the clock to decide the outcome. And if you were rooting for the home team, you likely found the ending to be more than a little bit controversial.

With the Nuggets up by one, and 0.3 seconds showing on the game clock, the Bulls inbounded to Brad Miller, who caught it, quickly turned, and appeared to beat the buzzer as the ball left his hand and went through the basket. But after going to the instant replay, the officials ruled the ball was still in his hands as time expired.

To the video!

The action starts at the 1:39 mark:

Incredible shot by Miller there, but after watching the replay over and over again, the ball did appear to still be on his fingertips when the red light behind the backboard came on. The officials got it right.

And just for the record -- because I heard more than one broadcaster make this mistake while discussing the play afterwards -- 0.3 seconds is enough time for there to be a catch-and-shoot, according to the NBA rule book:

"The game clock must show :00.3 or more in order for a player to secure possession of the ball on a rebound or throw-in to attempt a field goal. Instant replay shall be utilized if the basket is successful on this type of play and the clock runs to 0:00.

"The only type of field goal which may be scored if the game clock is at :00.2 or :00.1 is a "tip-in" or "high lob." "

So ideally, as fans, we don't want games to end with referees huddled around a video monitor for several minutes, because it takes the air out of the building after what was undeniably an electric atmosphere, once Miller's shot appeared to be good at first glance. But we do want the game to be decided fairly. And according to the rules that have been put into place by the league, in this case, it was.

Brad Miller Can't Beat the Buzzer originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NBA Power Rankings: Rising Suns

Brett Pollakoff — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:45:00 EST

Filed under: Bulls, Cavaliers, Celtics, Hawks, Lakers, Magic, Mavericks, Nuggets, Suns, Trail Blazers, NBA Power Rankings

We're just eight games into the season, but there's no doubt who the surprise team is at this point. The Phoenix Suns are off to a 7-1 start, and have road wins over two of the three remaining one-loss teams. They've done it with Steve Nash leading the league in assists at almost 13 per game, and with the team leading the league in three-point shooting at a ridiculous 47 percent. But all of that only got the Suns to No. 2 in this week's rankings -- read on to see who's on top.

1. Lakers (6-1) | Prev.: 5
Pau Gasol has yet to play a game this season, and Andrew Bynum has missed the last two. But when Kobe Bryant goes for 40 or more three times in the team's first seven games, well, the wins just seem to come anyway.
2. Suns (7-1) | Prev.: 7
You could make a case for the Suns rising all the way to the top this week, especially considering the strength of their recent competition -- which they mostly steamrolled. But one or two doesn't make a whole lot of difference in November, and Phoenix will get their chance at the top-ranked Lakers soon enough: They head to L.A. for a TNT showdown Thursday.
3. Celtics (7-1) | Prev.: 2
After opening the season with eight games in 11 days, the Celtics looked weary in their last two. But they came out of it with just a single loss, and they still lead the league in point differential with an impressive + 14.1 -- the second best team in that department is only at +7.8.
4. Heat (5-1) | Prev.: 8
Contract years are a beautiful thing. Quentin Richardson is in one, and he's set a career mark for most consecutive games with at least nine rebounds -- Q has done it in five straight (and counting).
5. Hawks (5-2) | Prev.: 11
Jamal Crawford is thriving in his sixth man role, and has led or shared the team lead in scoring three times. The Hawks finally put it all together in a dismantling of the Nuggets at home, but whether or not they can take that same show on the road Friday in Boston will say a lot about exactly where this team is at this early point in the season.
6. Mavericks (5-2) | Prev.: 4
Dallas has actually looked like one of the top teams this season, but the fact that they gave away a game at the free throw line cannot go unpunished. But the next night Josh Howard returned, and so did the Mavs' solid play: They crushed the Raptors by 28 points.
7. Blazers (4-3) | Prev.: 13
Nate McMillan pushed the right button in placing Andre Miller alongside Brandon Roy and Steve Blake in the starting lineup, and the team is 2-0 since he made that adjustment.
8. Nuggets (5-2) | Prev.: 3
After the strong start, Denver has dropped two straight since Kenyon Martin went down with an injury. But Anthony Carter might have said it best after the Nuggets' first loss of the season: "When one person goes down, that's why everybody else gets paid to play. Kenyon ain't the whole team."
9. Magic (5-2) | Prev.: 1
Orlando has done well to start 5-2, playing without the suspended Rashard Lewis since the beginning, and missing Vince Carter for four of the last five with an ankle injury. Ryan Anderson had been filling in nicely, but losing him to an injury was too much to overcome, as Orlando lost by 28 without him in Oklahoma City.

10. Bulls (4-2) | Prev.: 16
Winners of three straight after the slow start, including a close one in Cleveland against LeBron and the Cavs. Joakim Noah has been so solid this season that he's making a local columnist eat his words -- literally, and with salsa no less.

11. Spurs (3-3) | Prev.: 6
Tony Parker is expected to miss about a week with an ankle sprain, but Manu Ginobili made sure the team wouldn't drop two straight. He went nuts against Toronto with 36 points, eight assists, four rebounds, and four blocked shots in 32 minutes off the bench. Batman, indeed.

12. Cavaliers (4-3) | Prev.: 10
The media circus surrounding the Cavs feasted last Friday at Madison Square Garden, when the "LeBron James to the Knicks" talk reached a fever pitch. They've had a few days to recover, just in time for Shaquille O'Neal versus Dwight Howard (and Stan Van Gundy) on ESPN this Wednesday.

13. Rockets (4-2) | Prev.: 9
The Rockets have played better than anyone expected, and have done it by playing smart, hard-nosed basketball. Unfortunately for them, Tracy McGrady is getting ready to come back and ruin everything, although the exact timing of his return is something that (surprise!) he and the team don't see eye to eye on.

14. Thunder (3-3) | Prev.: 14
Took apart a depleted Orlando Magic squad, and showed that if you don't make defense a priority against them, this Thunder team is capable of lighting you up -- they shot over 57 percent from the field, and over 53 percent from three-point land in that one. Oh, and also, there's this.

15. Bucks (3-2) | Prev.: 22
Winners of two straight in convincing fashion over the T'Wolves and the Knicks, and it could have been three in a row had they been able to protect an 18-point lead against the Bulls. But Brandon Jennings continues to impress, Andrew Bugut has done the heavy lifting, and everyone else is contributing just enough to keep the team afloat while Michael Redd is out.

16. Raptors (3-4) | Prev.: 21
It's been a pretty simple formula for the Raps this season: hold the other team under 100 points, and win (three times). Allow the other team to get into triple digits, and lose (four times). In other news, Chris Bosh continues his dominant season, with averages of 29 points and 11.6 rebounds through the team's first seven games.

17. Jazz (3-4) | Prev.: 17
Something's off with this year's Jazz team, but it's hard to tell exactly what it is yet. Consistency is something all teams struggle with, especially early on. But home losses aren't the way Utah normally does business, and they already have two to teams that, on paper, they should seemingly beat: the Rockets and the Kings.

18. Pistons (3-4) | Prev.: 23
Sure, I could drone on about the ups and downs of the team's season with Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince sidelined with injuries. But instead, do yourself a favor and read Matt Watson's excellent piece on the forced rebuilding situation in Detroit.

19. Bobcats (3-3) | Prev.: 18
Charlotte is an interesting team. They hammered the Hawks and hung with the Bulls this week, while Gerald Wallace (much to the delight of our own Matt Steinmetz) finally got himself a few assists -- three, to be exact, after going 94 field goal attempts without one through the team's first four games.

20. Kings (3-4) | Prev.: 26
No Kevin Martin? No problem for the Kings, what with the quick coming of age of rookie Tyreke Evans. Evans has led the team to two wins in Martin's absence, and is quickly making the term "combo guard" look very much like something that GMs should start to consider as a positive.

21. Hornets (3-5) | Prev.: 20
NOLA was very fortunate to beat the Mavs, looked wretched against the Raptors and Lakers, then rose up and delivered a 28-point road beatdown to the Clippers. David West's scoring and rebounding averages are down significantly from last year, and unless he can get back to having some occasionally monster performances, the team's going to continue to struggle.

22. Clippers (3-5) | Prev.: 25
Chris Kaman won the Western Conference player of the week award, which, considering he was competing against some 40-point performances from Kobe Bryant, was somewhat impressive. The Clips went 3-0 on the week, and Kaman averaged 24.3 points on .574 shooting from the field, 9.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. Sure, it all came to an abrupt end on Monday against the Hornets, but it was a good run while it lasted.

23. Sixers (3-4) | Prev.: 15
Philly seems to be still staggering after the Celtics beat them by 31 in the fourth game of the season. Since, they were lucky to beat a seriously undermanned Nets team, and followed that up with losses to the Pistons and the Suns.

24. Pacers (2-3) | Prev.: 29
After starting 0-3 against some quality competition, the Pacers have two wins over the Knicks and the Wizards -- the latter of which caused Washington to sacrifice a snack tray in frustration afterwards.

25. Wizards (2-5) | Prev.: 12
Things aren't going well in Washington, but the rumors of friction between Gilbert Arenas and Flip Saunders seem to be a bit ridiculous. Meanwhile, the team should be fine once Antawn Jamison returns, and three of the last four losses were to upper echelon teams, so it's not time to push the panic button just yet.

26. Warriors (2-4) | Prev.: 28
If these rankings were based on organizational health, the Warriors would be dead last. But as they showed in putting up 146 points on the T'Wolves on Monday, there's some talent on this roster that needs to be dealt with. Unfortunately, as long as Nellie is running the ship and Steven Jackson is in town, winning is going to be the exception, not the norm.

27. Timberwolves (1-7) | Prev.: 27
Jonny Flynn has been solid, but as long as Al Jefferson continues to struggle offensively, the T'Wolves are going to continue to have problems keeping pace.

28. Knicks (1-7) | Prev.: 19
What never gets mentioned in all the "LeBron to New York" talk is the fact that Mike D'Antoni's system appears to be just an awful, awful fit for the talents of King James.

29. Grizzlies (1-7) | Prev.: 24
The team needs to get out of the shadow of Allen Iverson -- whether it's due to trading him, waiving him, or his choosing to retire -- before they'll have any chance of moving in a positive direction.

30. Nets (0-7) | Prev.: 30
Thanks to a rash of injuries and ailments -- including swine flu taking out Chris Douglas-Roberts -- the team was actually forced to practice against furniture due to a lack of available bodies.

NBA Power Rankings: Rising Suns originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Doing Lines: Tyreke Evans Busts Out

Brett Pollakoff — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:25:00 EST

Filed under: Bulls, Hawks, Jazz, Kings, Mavericks, Nuggets, Raptors, NBA Last Night

Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the lig. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.

If you're not a close follower of the NBA, then just six games or so into the season, we can't necessarily hold it against you if the name Tyreke Evans doesn't ring a bell. Besides being a rookie, Evans plays for the Sacramento Kings, a team that won just 17 games a season ago, and figured to be about as bad this year with stud scorer Kevin Martin sidelined indefinitely with an injury.

But after what Evans did to Deron Williams in leading his undermanned team to a road win in Utah on Saturday, he won't remain anonymous to basketball fans for much longer.

Evans was the game's high scorer, finishing with a career high (obviously) 32 points, on 7-for-15 shooting, with seven assists and three rebounds. He fearlessly attacked the basket all night long, which is the reason for his 19 free throw attempts -- 16 of which the kid made.

This performance from Evans is a bit of a surprise, considering the fact that when the Kings dropped 127 points on Memphis earlier in the week, the rookie scored just three. But that was with Martin in the lineup, who has the ball in his hands quite a bit -- and with a scoring average of over 30 points per game, shoots it a lot, too. With Martin out, Evans had no problem taking over the leadership role, which is pretty impressive for a rookie playing in just his sixth game as a pro.

Deron Williams had a pretty great game himself in the losing effort, pouring in 29 points and dishing out 15 assists. But since Evans was the one who ended up on the winning end of things, you'd think the least that ESPN could do for him would be to actually get his photo into their game recap.

Down in Atlanta, the Hawks rose up and handed the Nuggets their second straight loss. Denver was playing without the injured Kenyon Martin, and Josh Smith made the most of his absence.

Smith was dominant on both ends of the floor, putting up a ridiculous line of 22 points, nine rebounds, seven assists ... and six blocked shots! When you add in the continued strong play of Jamal Crawford off the bench (25, four, and four), and Carmelo Anthony's struggle to get 30 points on 21 shots, it's easy to see how the Hawks ran away with this one.

Other notable numbers from Saturday's action:

Joakim Noah put up 21 points, on 10-of-12 shooting, and grabbed 16 rebounds in the Bulls' win over Charlotte. He's quietly becoming one of the most reliable centers in the game.

Josh Howard made his season debut for an already solid Mavericks team, and he looked good doing it. Howard was in the starting lineup, and in just 24 minutes, he had 16 points, four rebounds, two assists, and three steals.

Chris Bosh continued his early-season reminder that he too is one of 2010 free agency's top prizes, by putting up another super-solid line of 26 and 12, on 50 percent shooting from the field.

Doing Lines: Tyreke Evans Busts Out originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Doing Lines: Kobe and Wade Go for 40

Brett Pollakoff — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:01:00 EST

Filed under: Grizzlies, Heat, Hornets, Lakers, Mavericks, Nuggets, Rockets, Suns, NBA Last Night

Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the lig. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.

The last time we got together, three different players scored 40 points or more on the same night. Well, maybe it's not as rare of an occurrence as we thought, since we were just a single point away from it happening again on Wednesday.

Chris Paul missed by one with 39, but Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade each delivered, with 41 and 40 respectively.

Dwyane Wade's 40 points, four rebounds, and five assists were just enough to carry his team to a close road victory over the Wizards. Gilbert Arenas had 32 of his own in the loss, but did it on a far less attractive 9-for-27 shooting line, as opposed to Wade's 14-for-26.

Chris Paul was dazzling, and had 39 points (on 14-for-23 shooting), five rebounds, seven assists, and a couple of steals. On the other end of the court, Jason Terry had 18 in the fourth quarter (and 35 in the game), on 12-18 shooting and 4-5 from three-point land, But ultimately, his two missed free throws down the stretch may have done as more to influence the game's final outcome than his scoring did.

Kobe Bryant had an outstanding line of 41 points, six rebounds, four assists, and four steals. He did it by shooting a tidy 50 percent from the field, and you could tell from the opening minutes that even on the second night of a back-to-back, that Bryant wouldn't allow himself to be outshined by his former teammate, Trevor Ariza.

Speaking of Ariza, he and Ron Artest basically canceled each other out. Besides the pair picking up double technicals early, there weren't any fireworks to report, and both finished with an identical 15 points. Not only were their numbers similar, so was their play: each hit a clutch three-pointer with under 30 seconds left in regulation, Ariza's coming after Artest's to send the game into overtime.

Other notable numbers from Wednesday's action:

Carmelo Anthony finally cooled off a bit, managing just 22 points on 8-24 shooting. But when you have rookie Ty Lawson coming off the bench for 23 points in 28 minutes, on 9-10 shooting, the end result was still a blowout win for the Nuggets.

Derek Fisher played 34 minutes, and somehow managed to record 0 points, 0 rebounds, and 0 assists -- and he's the point guard! But he did manage two steals, including the one on the game's final play where he stripped the ball from Trevor Ariza.

Allen Iverson once again came off the bench, but in his second game of the season, was more productive in that role. A.I. scored 18 points (on 8-12 shooting) and handed out seven assists in 28 minutes of action.

Amar'e Stoudemire had 19 points and 11 rebounds in the first half against the Orlando Magic. It was the first flash of the old, explosive Amar'e we were used to seeing before his injury last February. Unfortunately, it didn't last in the second half, as he finished with 25 and 14, and the Suns suffered their first loss of the season.

Doing Lines: Kobe and Wade Go for 40 originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:01:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stinkface Chronicles: A Brilliant Disguise

Rob Peterson — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Jazz, Kings, Lakers, Mavericks, Nuggets, Spurs, NBA Videos

Looking back at the first week of the 2009-10 NBA season, someone missed a golden opportunity for a Halloween costume.

Wouldn't it have been great if two Lakers fans had gone as Shannon Brown and Josh Powell with the fan who was Brown holding onto a rim (a Nerf rim would have been fine) and sitting on Powell's shoulders?

"Whatever do you mean, Professor Stinkface?"

You know what I mean. Video after the jump.

Could you imagine the looks on people's faces if two guys walked into a party like that? Their faces would probably mirror the collective look on everyone's faces at the Staples Center on Oct. 30 when Brown yanked down a dunk so ferocious, so nasty we had wished Doug Collins had been announcing just so he could go all 2000 on us.

Just look at what Brown does in this video. He's at the top of the square when he lands on top of Powell's noggin. While Brown's ups are impressive, what's even more so is his timing. Remember, he's doing this off a long, missed 3-pointer. To measure the shot, the carom and then his steps? Incredible.

The four-letter network also was kind enough to do everything we would have done had we had the DVR running -- pause, slow mo, pause. The only thing they didn't do was rewind, and with the Mavericks up 12 at the time, they should have. No one would have complained. Except maybe Phil Mushnick.

Melo on Millsap

Poor Paul Millsap, he of the large contract and one more year of apprenticeship under Carlos Boozer. If riding the pine behind Boozer wasn't bad enough, Millsap suffered greviously when Carmelo Anthony unleashed all the fury of West Baltimore on his head.

Thanks to his own ill-advised and errant pass, Millsap was in the wrong place at the wrong time on Wednesday, Oct. 28 as Melo monster mashed in his mug.

'House's Brett Pollakoff covered this one quite well the night it happened and judging by the tweets, even Melo's peers couldn't help but ooh and ahh. I'll let it lay. You click the link and get your stink on.

Manu v. Bat

We've posted mulitple times on the Spurs' Manu Ginobili taking down the bat on Halloween night. And what the heck, we'll do it again because for the first time in NBA history we have "bat stinkface."

Don't believe me? As FanHouse NBA poobah Matt Watson pointed out, check out Kevin Martin's reaction at about 35 seconds. That's an epic flinch right there. It's tough to blame Martin, though. The bat was headed right for him and Manu saved him from multiple rabies shots. I think a thank you note or at least an iTunes gift card should be in the offing, don't you?

And finally...

A quick shout out to Alexe (or as he's known on YouTube as spankissimo) for not only responding to the first Stinkface post, but for being inspired enough by it to create this video, which went viral big time last week when multiple basketball blogs linked to it.

Congrats, Alexe. We look forward to more.

Stinkface Chronicles: A Brilliant Disguise originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Carmelo Looks Like a Scoring Champ

Chris Tomasson — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:40:00 EST

Filed under: Nuggets

DENVER -- Two guys sat in front of a locker at the Pepsi Center on Sunday night who have combined to win four NBA scoring crowns.

The stars on hand were Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony. OK, it must be said Iverson, a Memphis guard who sat out Sunday's game due to injury and was visiting his old Denver teammate, has four titles to none for Anthony.

But just wait. Anthony might be this season's scoring king.

True, the Nuggets forward has played just three games. But the race isn't close. He's averaging 37.7 points to 31.3 for runner-up Kobe Bryant of the Lakers.

"I'm just playing,'' Anthony said of the chances of joining 1982-83 titlist Alex English as a Denver player to have won a scoring crown. "At the end of the year, we'll see what happens. It's just November. It's early. This is the way I look at it. If I do what I've got to do and if my team wins, then all of them accolades will come.''

If Anthony can combine scoring and winning, a bigger accolade could come his way than the scoring crowd. That would be the MVP.

Anthony, though, is thinking about a piece of hardware even more important than that one. It's called the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

"I told you all before training camp started that I felt better than I ever felt coming into the season, coming into the training camp,'' Anthony said after scoring 42 points as the Nuggets beat the Iverson-less Grizzlies 133-123 to raise their record to 3-0. "My stamina feels great. I just feel good all around. My confidence is up. I've got one thing ahead of me, which is that gold ball.''

Denver fans need no reminding that, since entering the NBA in 1976, the Nuggets haven't even played in the NBA Finals. But they came close last season, falling in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals to the eventual champion Lakers.

That loss has stuck with Anthony. He worked out for nearly half the offseason in Los Angeles, and it sure didn't hamper his motivation hearing everybody talk about the Lakers' fourth title of the decade.

Anthony started the season with games of 30 points against Utah and 41 against Portland before Sunday's effort. With the first two being on national television, that got plenty of MVP talk started.

"In a word, wow,'' Nuggets vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien said Monday about Anthony's start, which earned him NBA honors for Western Conference Player of the Week.

With Anthony surging and the Nuggets out of the gates quickly, there's no hurry for any moves to be made. Warkentien told FanHouse it's "highly unlikely'' Denver will use its $7.4 million trade exception that expires Tuesday.

The Nuggets, though, have two other significant trade exceptions on the books. They have a $3.2 million one for the Chucky Atkins trade that expires Jan. 7, 2010 and a $3.7 million one for the Steven Hunter deal that is good until Aug. 7, 2010.

The way Anthony is playing, the Nuggets are doing just fine.

"Melo's awareness to how he's being covered is the best it's ever been,'' said Nuggets coach George Karl, whose team begins a six-game East Coast trip Tuesday at Indiana. "It's his ability to move around and be placed in different positions and his effective efficiency. His efficiency is pretty incredible right now. From post ups to jump shots to penetrations, good passing decisions. We need him. We have a little of bit of a hole with J.R. (Smith) not playing.''

Smith has four games left on a seven-game suspension by the NBA for pleading guilty to reckless driving in connection with a 2007 accident that killed a passenger in his car. With Smith having averaged 15.2 points last season, it's almost as if Anthony has picked up the addition load all by himself.

Anthony averaged 22.8 points last season. So he's had a 14.9 increase so far.

While Anthony obviously isn't going to put up 35-plus points for the season, don't be surprised if his average ends up somewhere around the 28.9 he had in 2006-07, which left him second in the NBA behind Bryant's 31.6. One reason is Anthony also figures to pick up some of the offensive slack lost when free agent Linas Kleiza bolted to Greece along with his 9.9 scoring average.

Another reason is Anthony has become close to unstoppable on offense. Having dropped from 240 to 228 pounds and his body fat going from 8.6 to 7 percent, he's in the best shape of his career.

"When push comes to shove, we've just got to give him the ball and get out of the way,'' Nuggets guard Anthony Carter said about Anthony, who is shooting 53.6 percent and Sunday became the first Denver player to score 40 points in consecutive games since Michael Adams in January 1991.

That especially was the case against the Trail Blazers. Anthony scored 19 points in the fourth quarter as the Nuggets overcame a seven-point deficit to claim their biggest win so far.

"This can be a special season,'' Anthony said.

It certainly has been a special start for Anthony.

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com and can be found on Twitter @christomasson.

Carmelo Looks Like a Scoring Champ originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Doing Lines: Kobe, 'Melo, Mayo Drop 40

Brett Pollakoff — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Grizzlies, Hawks, Lakers, Magic, Nuggets, Raptors, Suns, NBA Last Night

Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the lig. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.

It's not every day that we get to see a player hit for 40 points or more in an NBA game. So on Sunday, when we had three different players meet or surpass the mark, it's definitely something worth discussing.

Especially when two of them did it in the same game.

Anytime the Grizzlies take the court, you can just throw defense right on out the window, because no matter what you do, Memphis is going to light it up with their dizzying array of deadly scorers.

Okay, not usually. But the Grizz had no trouble keeping pace with the Nuggets for most of the night, led by a career-high 40 points from O.J. Mayo. Mayo got there by going 17-25 from the field, and also grabbed five rebounds and handed out four assists.

On any other night, Memphis probably leaves with a win. But not when Carmelo Anthony is on the opposing team, and puts up 42 points of his own, on 15-26 shooting, with seven boards and five assists. It was the first time in his career that Anthony has posted consecutive 40-point games, after going for 41 in his team's Thursday night victory at the Rose Garden over the Blazers.

One more 40-point performance to mention, and that was Kobe Bryant going for 41 against a plucky Atlanta Hawks team. Bryant also had eight rebounds, five steals, and three assists -- all to make sure that the defending champion Lakers didn't dip below .500 after the team's first three games.

Other notable numbers from Sunday's action:

Joe Johnson had 18 points in the first quarter for the Hawks, but finished with just 27.

Chris Bosh had 35 points and 16 rebounds in a losing effort to the Orlando Magic. Dwight Howard had 24 and 11, but most importantly, he hit 14 of his 16 free throw attempts.

Channing Frye had 25 points and five rebounds, but that's not the interesting part: he made six three-pointers for the second straight game (this time on 10 attempts), and now has 13 threes on the season. This is a season career-high for him in made threes, after only three games as a Phoenix Sun.

Doing Lines: Kobe, 'Melo, Mayo Drop 40 originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Carmelo Puts Millsap on a Poster

Brett Pollakoff — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Jazz, Nuggets, NBA Videos

The NBA season is a mere two days old, but the dunk I'm about to show you that Carmelo Anthony threw down over Paul Millsap on Wednesday is in fact, the dunk of the year.

'Melo said after the game, "Once I got the steal, I knew it was just me and him,'' Anthony said. "I wasn't going to lay the ball up. I was going to try to dunk it. If he'd have blocked it, he'd have blocked it. It went the opposite way."

But don't take my word for it: after watching the video, you can read what Dwight Howard and Quentin Richardson had to say about it, via updates they made to their respective Twitter pages after seeing the sensational highlight.

Carmelo Puts Millsap on a Poster originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ty Lawson Gives Karl Something to Like About a Rookie

Chris Tomasson — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:50:00 EST

Filed under: Nuggets

DENVER -- Midway through Wednesday's game, Denver coach George Karl suddenly stopped writing "Rookie'' on his coach's board and instead wrote "Ty.''

Could it be that Ty Lawson, in his very first NBA game, dispelled the myth that Karl doesn't have an appreciation for rookies?

"Things might be changing,'' Lawson said. "Every day up until (Wednesday) he wrote 'Rookie.' But he changed it to 'Ty.' I don't know what that means.''

What it means is Karl has got himself one heck of a rookie. Lawson scored 17 points and handed out six assists to help the Nuggets to a 114-105 opening-night win over Utah at the Pepsi Center.

More Coverage: Williams Proves Worth | Nash is Old, Crafty

Lawson was taken with the No. 18 pick by Minnesota, and shipped to the Nuggets on draft night. All Lawson did Wednesday was record more points than the draft's top five selections have combined for so far.

OK, so top pick Blake Griffin is injured and No. 5 selection Ricky Rubio has remained in Spain. But No. 2 Hasheem Thabeet went scoreless in his debut, No. 3 James Harden had five points and No. 4 Tyreke Evans got 10. So the top five picks are at 15.

The only rookie to have scored more in a game so far has been No. 6 pick Jonny Flynn, who had 18 in his Wednesday debut for Minnesota. So it wasn't too bad of an effort for a rookie in his first game with a Karl team.

"Everybody was saying, 'Coach Karl doesn't like rookies. He doesn't like rookies,''' said Lawson, who logged 26 minutes. "So it surprised me how much I played.''

We interrupt this article to let it be known Karl dislikes the suggestion he doesn't play rookies. But it was carefully phrased to Karl that this has been a "myth.''

Myths aren't always true. And the one about Karl and rookies certainly wasn't Wednesday.

"I don't know which (deserving) rookie I didn't play,'' said Karl, who mostly has coached teams that won a lot of games and didn't need rookies to play much, and those rookies also were often low picks. "Everybody says Michael Redd (in 2000-01). Michael Redd came to Milwaukee about 230 pounds and I told him, 'Until you have a body, I'm not going to play you.' He worked on his body.''

There are no problems with Lawson's body. That is, if you can see it.

"He's so quick,'' said Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony, who scored a game-most 30 points and had a ridiculous dunk midway through the fourth quarter in the face of Utah forward Paul Millsap. "We were trying to tell George the whole training camp that he wants us to run, but, when we're in a game with him, he's beating everybody down the court.''

Lawson gives the Nuggets a dimension they didn't have. Starting point guard Chauncey Billups is an All-Star and his top reserve (at least for now) Anthony Carter is loved by Karl. But neither conjures up thoughts of Usain Bolt when they go up and down the court.

"He gets in the paint, finding open guys,'' Billups said of Lawson. "That's something that's much needed, especially when you have shooters on the perimeter that can knock down open shots ... He does give us a great dimension we didn't have. He's got speed.''

Lawson also has confidence. Not that he's comparing himself to New Orleans star Chris Paul, but that's the name Lawson brought up when asked about his game.

"Like the Hornets' dimension, the way they play with Chris Paul,'' Lawson said. "He comes in the game and gets a lot of pick and rolls and gets into the gaps and gets everybody easy shots. That's the dimension I give.''

It's one that certainly will come in handy during the first seven games, when Denver shooting guard J.R. Smith serves an NBA suspension for pleading guilty to reckless driving for a 2007 accident that killed a passenger in his car. With Smith out and Karl not excited about starting Arron Afflalo or Joey Graham against a division rival, he surprisingly opened Wednesday with Carter at shooting guard.

For rotations, that made it easier for Lawson to get minutes. He played 14 in the second half, when he had 11 points as Denver outscored Utah 60-50 to overcome a 55-54 deficit.

But what will happen when Smith returns? Karl could have a very big decision to make. Carter, 34, is quite heady but would get lapped in any race with Lawson, who turns 22 Tuesday.

At least Karl doesn't have to think about that for a while. On Wednesday, he was too busy being in disbelief over how well Lawson did in his debut.

"Yeah,'' said Karl, admitting he was surprised. "We needed it, and we got (it from) him.''

Meanwhile, NBA historians are busy turning back dusty pages to find the last time Karl, who debuted as a coach in 1984, had a rookie score that many points in his first game.

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com.

Ty Lawson Gives Karl Something to Like About a Rookie originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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George Karl Stumps for Son Coby

Chris Tomasson — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Cavaliers, Nuggets, FanHouse Exclusive

DENVER -- George Karl isn't telling the Cleveland Cavaliers how to run their team. Then again, maybe he is.

Karl admits he's providing an "amateur fan evaluation'' regarding his son Coby Karl, a guard for the Cavaliers. But how many fans throwing out opinions on Coby have more than 930 NBA coaching wins?

Unless Lenny Wilkens, Don Nelson, Pat Riley, Jerry Sloan, Larry Brown, Phil Jackson, Bill Fitch or Dick Motta have spoken up, that would be none.

George Karl, the coach of the Denver Nuggets, doesn't understand why the Cavaliers might sign guard Antonio Daniels, which could result in his son being waived after making Cleveland's opening-day roster.

"For me, it's kind of crazy picking up a guy that didn't even go through training camp,'' George Karl said in an interview with FanHouse about Daniels, who had his contract bought out last week by Minnesota but never was in the Timberwolves' camp. "Of course, familiarity sometimes makes those decisions easier. I know Mike (Brown, Cleveland's coach) and Antonio were together in San Antonio (early this decade when Brown was an assistant and Daniels a Spurs guard).''

George Karl said he has talked to his son about rumors he soon could be waived. But he believes Coby should have an opportunity to play for the Cavaliers, perhaps ahead of Anthony Parker or Jamario Moon.

"I look at their roster and how they like to play, and I think he does different things than the guys that they have, and he does them well,'' George Karl said of Coby, who was used sparingly as a rookie with the Lakers in 2007-08 and played mostly in Spain last season. "I think he understands the game as a playmaker better than a Parker or a Moon. Moon and Parker are more athletic and better defenders, but there's a piece that Coby does in my mind, I don't know if coach Brown feels the same way.

"In my mind, (Shaquille O'Neal) and LeBron (James) probably like what Coby does. If you got Shaq and LeBron, there's not many other options. So the athleticism of Parker and Moon, when does that window open up? Is it when the bench gets in the game? With LeBron, that's about four to six minutes a game. With Shaq, it's larger. ... In L.A. (Coby) never really could get on the court other than a blowout. I think he's closer to getting on the court.''

Still, it's possible that, if Daniels, 34, is signed, Coby, 26, might not make it past the opener for the Cavaliers, who played host Tuesday night to Boston. Daniels agent, Tony Dutt, told FanHouse his client is looking at options in addition to Cleveland, and that nothing is certain.

"I've heard both,'' George Karl said of whether the Cavaliers might sign Daniels. "I've heard it's going to happen and I've heard from some other agents they don't think that it's going to happen. But it's only agents (talking so far to Karl).''

Even if the Cavaliers do add Daniels, it's possible they could waive guard Jawad Williams, who, like Coby Karl, has a non-guaranteed contract. Nevertheless, the father has told his son rumors likely aren't going away any time soon.

"If it's not Antonio Daniels (that the Cavaliers sign), there will be other gossip,'' said George Karl. "Next week it will be someone else. Next month it will be someone else. That's just the way the system is. For teams trying to win a championship, adding a piece to the puzzle is always a part of our philosophy. ... He's got to take the opportunity and be ready if he gets an opportunity to get on the court.''

If Coby Karl does get cut, his father said he likely will go to the D-League rather than again go overseas because he would want to be available for a return this season to the NBA.

"He's committed to the league,'' George Karl said of his son, who averaged 5.7 points and shot just 26.5 percent in the preseason, although he was hampered a few games by being ill. "He's not going to go even if he's tricked or intrigued by European (teams).''

For now, Coby is still a member of the Cavaliers. And, if you ask George Karl, he should be getting minutes for them.

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com

George Karl Stumps for Son Coby originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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'Point-A-Minute Melo' in Best Shape Ever

Chris Tomasson — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:25:00 EST

Filed under: Nuggets, NBA Preseason

DENVER -- If you Google Gunnar Peterson, you get articles such as "How Kim Kardashian Got Thin'' and "Want J. Lo's Body?''

But what about Melo's body?

Kardashian proudly notes she dropped from 128 to 113 pounds thanks to Peterson, the Beverly Hills, Calif., celebrity trainer. Meanwhile, Denver forward Carmelo Anthony says he dropped from 240 to 228 with the help of Peterson.

But Kardashian isn't leading all NBA players in the preseason in scoring. Neither is Jennifer Lopez.

"I hope Melo,'' said guard Chauncey Billups, when asked who he thinks is in better shape, Lopez or Anthony, his Nuggets teammate averaging 23.6 points in seven preseason games.

Anthony actually has been working with Peterson on and off since he was a rookie in 2003-04. But Anthony spent about 1 ½ months last summer in the Los Angeles area, and he made a point of seeing Peterson at least five times a week for sessions of an hour or more.

Anthony, whose body fat dropped during the offseason from 8.6 to 7 percent, says he's in the "best shape of my career.'' Peterson doesn't disagree.

"Melo was very serious,'' Peterson said. "I would say at the end of workouts, 'I'll get back to you about a time for tomorrow.' But, if I hadn't have gotten back to him by 6:30 or 7, he was texting me and saying, 'When are we going to work out?'''

Peterson has made a name for himself over the years training such Hollywood celebrities as Sylvester Stallone, Hugh Jackman, Bruce Willis, Kim Basinger, Penelope Cruz, Jennifer Connelly and Halle Barry. But you get the sense perhaps he considers it a bigger challenge working with athletes.

"You can make a good body a great body with lighting, but you can't make a good player a great player with lighting,'' said Peterson, whose other NBA clients include Baron Davis, Danny Granger and Carlos Boozer, has NFL clients such as Tom Brady, Reggie Bush and Matt Cassel and also has worked with boxer Mike Tyson and tennis stars Jennifer Capriati and Monica Seles.
"As far as my health, as far as my mental state, I'm ready. Everything about me. My energy. My confidence. My swagger. Everything is on another level right now."
-- Carmelo Anthony
Peterson said Anthony's great condition starts with Anthony and with Nuggets strength and conditioning coach Steve Hess, with Peterson saying, "it doesn't get much better than Steve.'' During the summer, Hess worked with Anthony when he was in Denver and flew to meet with him in his hometown of Baltimore. When Anthony was in Los Angeles, Hess conferred with Peterson on training work and diet.

When Anthony returned to Denver in September, Hess was a happy man.

"He's in unbelievable shape,'' Hess said. "I've never seen him like this. He's leaner, harder, faster, stronger. (Anthony's) just done an unbelievable job over the summer.''

Anthony's teammates did a double take when he showed up in Denver before the start of training camp.

"I called him 'Slim' because he'd lost so much weight,'' said guard Anthony Carter. "And now I see him coming in early (before practice). You'd never see him come in early before. But he's coming in and he's up there lifting and getting his shots and everything.''

With the Nuggets coming so close to the NBA Finals last season, losing 4-2 in the Western Conference finals to the Los Angeles Lakers, Anthony said that motivated him to come back in the best shape possible. He also said it helped that, for the first time since 2005, he didn't spend the summer playing for USA Basketball.

"I got a chance to rest my body,'' said Anthony, who couldn't have been resting too much considering all those workouts with Peterson. "That was the most important part... I ate right. I stuck to my diet. I lifted more (than ever before).''

Anthony, 25, regularly saw Peterson, 47, at his 5,000 square-foot state-of-the-art gym off Santa Monica Boulevard. There's no signage, with Peterson saying that's "to keep the paparazzi away.''

"We did a lot of core work and we did a lot of stamina work,'' Anthony said. "I was just constantly being in the gym I was trying to get my elbow right (the right one that hampered Anthony last season) and just do full body work.''

When Peterson discusses what the two did, he gets rather technical. There's lots of talk about lunges and lateral work.

Let's just say it worked.

After scoring 28 points in 31 minutes in Thursday night's 106-89 loss to the Lakers in Anaheim, Calif., Anthony finally is averaging less points than minutes played (24.0) in the preseason. Anthony, who had 137 points in 137 minutes before that game, chuckled when it was suggested he should be known as "point-a-minute Melo.''

One more preseason game remains Friday against the Lakers in San Diego, but there's no guarantee Anthony will play. Anthony, who rolled up 45 points in just 24 minutes in an Oct. 11 preseason win over Indiana in Beijing, has been ready for a while for Denver's regular-season opener next Wednesday against Utah.

"As far as my health, as far as my mental state, I'm ready,'' Anthony said. "Everything about me (is feeling better). My energy. My confidence. My swagger. Everything is on another level right now.''

With the possibility of looking really good in wedding photos, Anthony could have further incentive to keep his weight down next summer. Anthony said his marriage to his longtime fiancée, MTV personality LaLa Vazquez, is "coming soon'' and "could be'' as soon as next summer.

But whether Anthony is wearing basketball shorts or a tuxedo, it won't be surprising if articles soon crop up such as "How Carmelo Anthony Got Thin''' or "Want Melo's Body?''

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com.

'Point-A-Minute Melo' in Best Shape Ever originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spain's Jose Calderon Says Americans Need to Send Top Players to Worlds

Chris Tomasson — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:10:00 EST

Filed under: Nuggets, Raptors, FIBA, USA Basketball

DENVER -- Defending champion Spain is planning to have its best players for next year's World Championships in Turkey. The nation's top point guard is recommending that the Americans do the same.

"I think they've got to do that,'' Jose Calderon of the Toronto Raptors told FanHouse. "You cannot just play for the Olympics. I think that, if you want to be on the team, you've got to be in all the good tournaments, and that is a good tournament.''

Nevertheless, it remains to be seen how many members of America's 2008 gold-medal Olympic team will return for the World Championships. Several top players, namely Cleveland's LeBron James, Miami's Dwyane Wade and Toronto's Chris Bosh, are wavering about committing.

USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo is on a quest to convince Olympic holdovers the importance of the World Championships, an event Americans long have given little attention. Many top basketball-playing nations consider it more important than the Olympics.

But James, Wade and Bosh all can opt out of their contracts next summer and become free agents. For that reason, they might be unwilling to give Colangelo an advance commitment.

"It's important (for Team USA to have its best players), but they've got to take care of what they've got to take care of,'' Denver forward Carmelo Anthony, who already has committed to the Worlds, said about James, Wade and Bosh. "You don't really know what's going to happen with their free agency, and you've got to take care of your own first.''

The Americans haven't won the Worlds since Dream Team II clobbered foes in Canada in 1994. Following the original Dream Team's win in the 1992 Olympics, that was the second major international competition featuring NBA players.

NBA players didn't appear in the World Championships in 1998 in Greece due to the NBA lockout and a watered-down Team USA finished an embarrassing sixth in 2002 in Indianapolis. A solid American team managed just the bronze medal in Japan in 2006, which is why Anthony hopes all the top players from the Olympics eventually will return.

"We lost in the last Worlds, so it's good to go back and defend ourselves,'' said Anthony, a starting forward in both the 2006 Worlds and 2008 Olympics who can't become a free agent until 2011 at the earliest. "But I understand if everybody can't make it.''

Spain won the 2006 Worlds and took the silver medal in the 2008 Olympics after falling to Team USA in an epic finale. Calderon, who missed the gold-medal game due to a groin injury, wants another shot at a top American team.

"You want everybody to be there,'' said Calderon, who did not play for Spain when it won the European Championships last month but will be back for the World Championships. "You want to play against the best players. That's what you want. So hopefully everybody will come back (for the Americans). ... I think they have a great team. But now you can't just go out (anyway) and win every game. ... You've got to be ready to play every night. There's no easy game anymore.''

Calderon has yet to talk to Bosh, his Raptors teammate, about the Worlds. But Bosh agrees with Calderon that the Americans likely have to send a top team to win.

"We have to,'' Bosh said. "You have to send your best players.''

Bosh is one of the best, and he hopes to play. But he said it could be too dicey if his contract situation is unsettled.

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com.

Spain's Jose Calderon Says Americans Need to Send Top Players to Worlds originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Player to Watch: Nene

Matt Moore — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Nuggets, NBA Preseason

FanHouse previews a player to watch from each NBA team in advance of the 2009-10 season.

Russ Bengston once said that "Nene dunks like God."

I think that is undeniably false.

First of all, the Lord clearly says that you should love thy neighbor. And while Nene is known to care for his teammates and help them to succeed, I'd also say that he cares more about destroying the hopes and dreams of his opponent even more. It's personal with Nene. And he knows it.

Nene also doesn't adhere to the idea that you should have no other Gods before him. He tends to shrink to the back, letting Billups and Melo get all of the attention while he, the testicular-tumor survivor and big man for the Nuggets fields the toughest questions.

I'd say Nene fails the idea that there is only one true God, since he often wears the shirt of rebounder, scorer, assist man, hatchet man, defender, low-post presence, and fast break finisher, all in the same game. His versatility is what makes him so dangerous.

Nene bounced back last season from a potentially career-crippling injury. This season he's looking at jumping to the next level. And the quickest way to do that? Dunk on everyone.

Player to Watch: Nene originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FanHouse Preview: Denver Nuggets

Chris Tomasson — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Nuggets, NBA Preseason, NBA Previews

FanHouse previews all 30 NBA teams in advance of the 2009-10 season.

Denver's previous coach wasn't bashful about title talk.

"To win a championship, you've got to talk championship,'' Michael Cooper said on several occasions as members of the media attempted to keep from snickering.

Let's just say Cooper, who compiled a 4-10 interim coaching stint before being silenced in January 2005, didn't do much more than talk championship.

Now, the guy who replaced Cooper is doing a lot of such spouting. But nobody is snickering.

"I believe this team can win a championship,'' said George Karl, who has led the Nuggets to five straight playoff berths since taking over.

The Nuggets never were closer to that during their first 33 NBA years than last season. They advanced to the Western Conference finals, throwing a scare into the Lakers before falling 4-2.

Now, Karl and some players have not been shy about saying the Nuggets have what it takes to claim the crown. Wait, you say, didn't they pretty much remain pat during the offseason while other top teams beefed up?

"I think other teams made moves after looking at where we were,'' said forward Kenyon Martin, who believes his Nuggets are better than the defending champion Lakers.

Other reasons were Denver owner Stan Kroenke, whose team is over the luxury-tax threshold, not wanting to go on a spending spree, and the Nuggets believing they have chemistry in place and there was no reason to mess with it.

It all came together with what was concocted in the laboratory last November. That's when the Nuggets acquired Chauncey Billups from Detroit, giving them the heady point guard they desperately sought and sending them on their way to a 54-28 season and the Northwest Division title.

Other things mixed perfectly. Forward Carmelo Anthony saw his scoring average decrease, but he became a better all-around player. Big men Martin and Nene amazingly were able to stay healthy the whole season.

Center Chris "Birdman'' Andersen, who looked as if he would go the way of the Dodo bird because of a 2006-08 NBA drug suspension, saw his career resurrected. And guard J.R. Smith continued to develop, finishing second in voting for the NBA Sixth Man Award.

But Smith was suspended by the NBA for the first seven games of the regular season because of a reckless driving guilty plea from a 2007 accident that killed a passenger in his car. That means the Nuggets, who will play five of their first seven on the road without Smith, will be tested early.

The Nuggets, you see, might have the "Birdman,'' but they're still thin on the wing. They lost free-agent swingmen Dahntay Jones and Linas Kleiza during the offseason, although Karl has been pleased with summer perimeter acquisition Arron Afflalo. And the Nuggets remain a big undersized in the post.

Nuggets vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien, the reigning NBA Executive of the Year, says it's "very fair to say we haven't had a marquee move.'' But Warkentien said the Nuggets won't hesitate to make one if there's any sign of slippage.

"We'll see where we're at,'' said Warkentien, whose team has a $7.4 million trade exception that expires Nov. 3. "One thing I think has been proven is, if we indeed have slipped, when you get to that analysis that we need more, I think this group has proven that we'll take the driver out and give it another big swing.

"We're not afraid to hit driver. And, on the first tee of this season, it seems to be a little more prudent to hit 3-wood. But, again, we're in a good spot. Let's hit 3-wood and see how it works. If we get stuck, Big Bertha's coming out. Big Bertha's still in the bag.''

Right now, though, nobody on the Nuggets seems too concerned about getting stuck. Everybody is too busy talking championship.

Last Season By the Numbers

Record: 54-28 under George Karl. Won Northwest Division, 2nd in the Western Conference. Eliminated by Los Angeles Lakers (4-2) in the West final.

Offense: 110.4 points per 100 possessions, 7th in the NBA, 7th in shooting, 24th in turnover rate, 15th in offensive rebounding, 30th in free throw rate.

Defense: 106.8 points per 100 possessions, 8th in the NBA. 6th in shooting defense, 8th in opponent turnover rate, 23rd in defensive rebounding, 25th in opponent free throw rate.

Top Performers: Forward Carmelo Anthony's team-high 22.8 scoring average was lower than the previous season's 25.7, but he developed into a better all-around player. After joining the Nuggets four games into their season, point guard Chauncey Billups averaged 17.9 points and a team-high 6.4 assists for them. Guard J.R. Smith provided instant offense with a 15.2 average while shooting 39.7 percent on three-pointers. Center Nene averaged a surprising 14.6 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds after having testicular cancer the previous season. Perhaps even more surprising was center Chris Andersen finishing second in the league in blocks with a 2.46 average.

All statistics via Basketball-Reference.com.

Player to Watch

FanHouse's Matt Moore and Tom Ziller preview one player to watch from each team. Here's a snippet of Moore's post on Denver center Nene.

Nene bounced back last season from a potentially career-crippling injury. This season he's looking at jumping to the next level. And the quickest way to do that? Dunk on everyone.

See Moore's full post on Nene.

Offseason Tracker

IN: Arron Afflalo (trade), Malik Allen (trade), Joey Graham (free agency), Ty Lawson (draft).

OUT: Jason Hart (free agency), Steven Hunter (trade), Dahntay Jones (free agency), Linas Kleiza (free agency), Sonny Weems (trade).

FanHouse Preview: Denver Nuggets originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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