tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71694682024-03-08T14:08:20.785-08:00Random DribbleNBA, Nuggets, and Soccer in a Completely Random MannerAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-65113071825760525592014-02-19T12:15:00.001-08:002014-02-19T12:15:31.588-08:00Plus/Minus Indicative of Faried Trade?Have you seen the plus/minus from last night's Nugget game (Denver v Phoenix)? <a href="http://www.nba.com/games/20140218/PHXDEN/gameinfo.html?ls=slt">Box Score</a>.<br />
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Starters = -101<br />
Subs = + 75<br />
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Which begs the question, why are Faried and Hickson starting when Mozgov and Arthur are clearly better?<br />
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My guess is the Nuggets are trying to trade Faried so they are showcasing him as a starter. His lack of defensive acumen has been bugging me for a month now. Pretty much every person he checks has a career night.<br />
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Part of that is not his fault. Kenneth is clearly not a power forward. He is a small forward who can rebound. But I am beginning to think he clearly prefers playing on the offensive end to doing anything on defense. So from a cost benefit point of view, he is generally going to be a liability. No better time than now to trade him while there is still a lot of buzz about him in the NBA.<br />
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Will he be traded? Will he stay and get moved the bench? Or will things stay status quo? It will be interesting to see what happens.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-5877244824680306632011-12-14T10:15:00.000-08:002011-12-14T10:15:53.851-08:00Nuggets get Nene back, Fernandez and BrewerThe Nuggets have resigned Nene to 5 year $13 million contract. In addition, they made a trade yesterday getting Rudy Fernandez and Corey Brewer from Dallas.<br />
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<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wizards/nuggets-ready-for-season-with-a-cast-that-includes-no-superstars/2011/12/14/gIQAdylUtO_story.html">The Washington Post has the only analysis of the team so far</a><br />
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The Nene signing is great. I think all around, he is a very underrated player. He is a good defender, he blocks out, and he really does have some offense. Expect him to get more minutes and better stats with KMart gone.<br />
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Given the brutal NBA schedule this season, depth will be paramount. And the Nuggets are already super deep. Sure they are gonna need some players to step up their scoring. But if that happens, I expect the Nuggets to be a very good team this year. <br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-20712152756662682742011-10-21T08:20:00.000-07:002011-10-21T08:21:42.017-07:00NBA Lockout: Killing the Golden GooseJust read a <a href="http://blog.chron.com/nba/2011/10/from-bad-to-worse-nba-talks-break-down-get-ugly/">few of the articles</a> on the breakdown in talks over the NBA lockout. The players seem to be offering a sliding system where they take a 50% cut while revenues are down. However, once revenue starts to go up again, their cut increases a few percentage points. This seems like a pretty reasonable proposal. <br />
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The owners, however, are not interested. Basically, they offered a 50/50 split, take it or leave it. Pretty hard line.<br />
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Both sides need to realize they are in the entertainment business and we are facing some very serious economic hard times. They have a very expensive product in a very competitive market. I know there are a number of college basketball fans in the Denver area that would be more than happy to pick up a few fans and season ticket holders. The NBA, more than the NFL and MLB, faces the risk of a much greater loss in reputation and long term revenue by prolonged labor strife.<br />
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My advice to the players... Take the deal for the shortest amount of time you can get. If the owners profits soar, you can get your pound of flesh in a few years time. If profits aren't up, then maybe the owners had a point. The league is run by hard liners this time around and I don't think they are gonna change their position.<br />
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My fear is we are gonna lose at least this season. Maybe more. The talk of the players starting their own league has been thrown around as well. Maybe that would be a good thing. Somehow I think Billy Hunter would not be so disdainful of "profits" after trying to run his own league.<br />
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Whatever the case, it looks like both sides are gonna be losing a lot of money. And they will have no one to blame but themselves.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-62192971402898660912009-11-27T15:18:00.000-08:002009-11-27T15:18:57.143-08:00Broncos: Offense Helps the DefenseSo many people are misreading the Broncos win last night and their last four losses. The defense has been pretty much the same throughout the year. When the D has looked bad, the offense has played terrible. Because of all the three and outs, time of possession has been lop sided in all the losses. In the NFL, if an opposing offense gets so many chances, they are going to score . In all the losses, the Broncos were in the game in the first half. But, offensive ineptitude lead to eventual defense collapse.<br />
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Last night, the Broncos offense were actually able to move the ball a little. The defense stayed fresh and I think, it makes all the difference. The Bronco's team success will depend on the offense playing reasonably well. Balance is the key.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-92092094318499787432009-10-13T11:21:00.001-07:002009-10-13T11:21:50.544-07:00Nuggets in Bejing<a href="http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/2009/10/12/denver-nuggets-wake-up-in-beijing/">Roundball Mining Company has a very nice round up of the Nuggets final game in China</a>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-47173065128678451882009-10-13T11:16:00.000-07:002009-10-13T11:16:20.900-07:00Orton vs RiversThe <a href="http://www.boltsfromtheblue.com/2009/10/13/1082877/kyle-orton-vs-philip-rivers">Bolt from the Blue blog has an interesting post comparing Kyle Orton and Philip Rivers</a>. Did you know they have very similar stats? If Orton keeps playing well, he will get the respect he deserves.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-71902852501489052002009-09-25T13:19:00.000-07:002009-10-01T12:39:52.938-07:00Scott and Al Show No MoreThe best sports talk duo in Denver is no more. Scott and Al (Scott Hastings and Alfred Williams), on from 1 until 3 on 104.3 the Fan in Denver are being split up. Scott will be on from 1 until 4 with Mike Evans and Al with be on with DMac from 4 until 7.<br />
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This is truely a sad day. They are by far the best sports talk show in Denver. I wish them the best with their new pairings. But one has to wonder, who is running that station? A pair this good you don't break up, you move to drive time and give them another hour.<br />
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Oh well.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-46855747294533355932009-08-15T05:59:00.000-07:002009-08-15T06:10:32.821-07:00Orton and Broncos Offense Not That BadWell the Broncos first preseason game was last night. Starting quarterback Kyle Orton threw 3 interceptions in the first half. From what I can see, that is all the media is writing about.<br /><br />What they fail to mention is the Broncos offense seemed to be able to move the ball pretty well. Both in the first half and second half (when Chris Simms was the QB), they offense had a number of very effective drives. The passing game looked good and well as the running game.<br /><br />In addition, the defense played fairly well. If not for Orton's third interception on the Broncos own 20, the Niner's would have scored only 1 TD in the whole game.<br /><br />In regards to Orton's first half. If he continues to throw that many interceptions, he won't be the starter. Heck, he won't make the team if that continues. lol. Expect a better performance next week. Either Orton or Simms will emerge as the starter. In this offense, either player can be just as successful as Jay Cutler would have been.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-79283791730262572532009-06-26T09:16:00.000-07:002009-06-26T09:33:35.393-07:00A Steal of a DealThe Denver Nuggets got the steal of the draft by getting North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson with the 18th pick. Described as "blazing fast" and a "one man fast break", the Nuggets filled a big need at backup point guard (no offense intended to Anthony Carter who has played great since coming to Denver). Think Tim Hardaway with good knees.<br /><br />Stories on the Nuggets pick:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_12693143">Denver Post</a></li><li><a href="http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_12693935">Denver Post -Kisla</a></li><li><a href="http://www.rototimes.com/article/2009/6/NBA-Draft-Recap-3">RotoTimes</a></li></ul>A quick comment on Kisla's column. The Spurs will be better with Richard Jefferson, no doubt. But they aren't any better than they were with Michael Finley a few years ago. The Nuggets can beat the Spurs if they keep the core of their current team together. In my opinion, the Nuggets are right there in the mix at 2 or 3. The Celtics are a year older. The Cavs may make a run, if Shaq can stay healthy. Heck the only difference between the Lakers and the Nuggets is offensive execution in the 4th quarter. If the Nuggets can improve in that area, they can compete with any of the teams at the top of the NBA.<br /><br />Good job Nuggets!!!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-25353563159348661332009-05-10T06:13:00.000-07:002009-05-10T06:33:01.712-07:00Nuggets Steal Game 3Wow! What a game last night. The Mavs kept trying to put the Nuggets away but couldn't do it. Too many missed free throws and missed shots.<br /><br />With 31 seconds left in the game, Jason Terry hit a corner 3 to put the Mavs up 4. But on the next posession, the Mavs gave Melo a clear path to the basket for a quick easy dunk. Mavs only up 2. The Mavs came down on the next possession and Dirk took a tough 17 foot fade away and missed. This gave the Nuggets 6.6 seconds for Melo's heroics.<br /><br />Melo got the ball on the left side of the court and dribbled to the right side near the 3 pt line. With about 3 seconds to go, the Mavs defender slapped Melo hard across the wrist. No foul call was made. Melo continued with the play and nailed the 3 with 1 second remaining on the clock. Dirk took a desperation shot at the end and missed. Game Nuggets.<br /><br />As to the controversial no call, that is how the game had been called all night. The Nuggets repeatedly received no calls after getting knocked down or hit. For example, on every Jason Kidd post up of the 4th quarter, he hooked Chauncy with his left hand to get around him. A clear offensive foul. No call. The only reason the Mavs were in the game were the repeated ghost calls the Mavs had received throughout the game. Nene, Melo and JR all got called for fouls when there was little or no contact.<br /><br />But given those facts, at the end of the game, the Mavs should have been up 10. The missed a number of free throws and three point play opportunities down the stretch. They should have been up at least 4 on that last shot.<br /><br />Anyway, just 1 more win for the Nuggets and they can start preparing for the Lakers.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-41358543148005614352009-04-26T12:02:00.000-07:002009-04-26T12:04:10.906-07:00iPhone Apps for Sports News (Part I)<img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 127px; height: 92px;" src="http://blueskyworkshop.com/images/blog/iphoneApp.png" alt="" border="0" /><br /><p>Yesteday I was at my niece's soccer game I tried checking the score of the Nuggets game. Well doing that on a web site, or even most of the mobile optimized websites, can be a bit clunky. So this morning, I thought I should check and see if there were any iPhone apps for showing scores. Boy was I suprised! There are several choices and evern a few apps by the sports leagues themselves</p><h4><a href="http://www.appsafari.com/news/9045/nba-game-time/">NBA Game Time</a></h4><p>This official app from the NBA shows the scores for today's games. In addition, it provides live scores and stats for games in progress. Nice little box scores by team. It also includes the current schedule and standings. Really nice.</p><h4><a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mobile/iphone/">mlb.com lite</a></h4><p>Similar to the NBA app, but it provides less stats. It still shows the live scores and schedules, who's hitting, pitching, and who is on base. However, it does not provide a box score.</p><p>However, they do provide a paid version of the application that provides a lot more detailed information. Stuff like live pitch locations, pitch by pitch commentary, etc... It looks really cool.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-10048194637479495962009-04-07T10:58:00.000-07:002009-04-07T11:37:58.110-07:00Ginobli Out for the yearThe Spurs have lost <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-spurs-minusmanu&prov=ap&type=lgns">Manu Ginobli for the year due to a stress fracture in his ankle</a>. You can take the Spurs off your list of title contenders this year. If they are missing any of the big three, they aren't the same team.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-47337236504660452862009-02-11T12:44:00.000-08:002009-02-11T12:50:02.170-08:00Big Phil Fired by ChelseaWow. What can one say about this. You can win the world cup. Come very close to winning the European Cup. But, in England if you aren't in first place after 6 months you can't coach.<div><br /></div><div>Chelsea does not seem to be setting itself up for long team success. They have no players coming through their youth system. No purchases of promising young players. When the owner runs out of money, they are gonna be in trouble.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-59143046466592051152009-02-11T12:37:00.000-08:002009-02-11T12:44:14.759-08:00ARod SteroidsARod tested positive for a forbidden substance in 2003. I'm shocked, shocked to learn a baseball player may have taken 'roids! He took an anonymous test and at the time broke no rules. For all we know, he could have tested positive for ephedrine or something silly like that.<div><br /></div><div>Anyway, the media hype over this has been ridiculous. To listen to sports talk radio, no player from the '90s will even be considered for the Hall of Fame. They are all tainted. I think we need to start drug testing sports writers. If they have taken any illegal substances, they can't be hall of fame voters. :)<br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-56897094142417165722008-11-03T09:27:00.000-08:002009-02-06T14:14:38.241-08:00AI for Chancey Billups and Antonio McDyess<p>The Rocky Mountain News is reporting the Nuggets are looking to trade Allen Iverson to Detroit for Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess. Initial reaction. This would be a great trade for the Nuggets. They get a real point guard and a solid backup at the 4 for KMart which is needed given his history of injuries.</p><br /><b>The Numbers</b><br />AI is making $20M in the last year of his contract. McDyess will make $6.9M this year and $7.5M next year. Billups will make $12M for this year and the next two years. Salary cap wise, the Nuggets would still be a little tight the next 2 years if the deal goes through.</p><br /><p>I still think AI is great. But I don't think you can win in the NBA with a 6 foot tall 2 guard unless you have a large point guard to match him with. The Pistons have such a person. Rodney Stucky is a 6'5" point guard. The Nuggets have no such player.<br /><br />The Nuggets really, really need someone who can run the team. The last 5 minutes vs the Lakers made that painfully obvious. In addition, this would allow the Nuggets to move Balkman or Dantay Jones into the starting lineup to guard the 2 or 3 from the opposing team. JR and Klieza would score off the bench and have a little help from McDyess.<br /><br />It works for me.<br /><b>Update</b><br />Sounds like its a done deal. Also, Stephen A Smith is reporting that the Nuggets plan to waive McDyess after the deal is complete.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-78096362857954683112008-11-02T20:11:00.000-08:002008-11-02T20:12:01.078-08:00Weekend Update 11/02/2008<p>Well two games in the books this weekend against LA teams. One game shows how good the Nuggets can be, the other how bad.</p><br /><p>The good was against the Clippers. The Nuggets played a swarming defense, shared the ball and pretty much owned the second half as they came back from a big halftime deficit to win. It was a real team effort with special kudos to Dantay Jones who had a great game. If they play this kind of team ball all year, they are gonna win a lot of games.</p><br /><p>The bad, the final minutes vs the LA Lakers. I tuned into the game in the late 3rd quarter and the Nuggets were keeping a steady lead. As it got to crunch time the Lakers went to Kobe Bryant. He played good but the Nuggets did get a few good stops along the way.<br /></p><br /><p>However, the problem was not their defense, it was their offense. The same old 1 on 5 isolation crap from last year. Throw Mello the ball, run to the opposite side of the court and stand there. Mello takes on 2 or 3 guys, then the ball is passed around the perimeter and a desparation 3 goes up late in the shot clock. When are they gonna learn? As the game wore on, Kobe settled for fewer and fewer jumpers and took the ball to the hole. Did the Nuggets go inside to Mello? To Nene? Nope. Just long difficult outside jumpers. Totally different than the Clipper game.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-87943286676501127182008-10-24T10:47:00.000-07:002008-10-24T11:12:07.195-07:00A New Season and the Trade<p>Well the new season quickly approaches and I have not posted in a long time.</p><br /><h4>The Camby Trade</h4><br /><p>From a team happiness perspective, I think this will help a lot. Not that Camby is a bad guy or anything like that. No, things should be better because of clearly defined roles. Nene is the starting center and KMart is the starting PF. No more time sharing, no more discussions about which of the three should be the starter. Both will get all the minutes they want. The team should also be much better defensively. Camby is a great weakside defender, but always seemed to struggle when he had to guard good big men like Tim Duncan or Amare Stoudemire.</p><br /><p>The only potential problem is Nene and KMart have not had the best health records in the league.</p><br /><h4>Why didn't the Nuggets get anything in Return?</h4><br /><p>It is a misconception that the Nuggets didn't get anything for Camby. They did not get a player back in the trade, they got a $10M salary cap exception. What does that mean you may ask? It means that if the Nuggets were to trade say .... Allen Iversion who is making $20M this season, they would only take $10M in salary coming back to the Nuggets. The net result is, if the Nuggets trade Iverson in addition to Camby, they will drop $20m from their salary cap for the season. This should give them cap room to sign Klieza and JR Smith next year.</p><br /><p>Iverson's departure would seem inevitable to me. That is sad because the guy plays his heart out every night. And there is a lot to like about the guy. But if you are building the team around Mello, a 6' scoring point guard does not fit. They need a good play making point with an outside shot.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-89380968655630155632008-04-22T18:41:00.001-07:002008-04-22T18:45:03.835-07:00Spurs v SunsAs the Spurs and Sun are about to play their second game, I wanted to say something about the first game. That was one of the best played basketball games I have seen in a log time. Back and forth with the Champs making the Suns take the title from them.<br /> It was just a joy to watch the game offensively and defensively.<br /><br />In my opinion, the winner of this series will me the Lakers in the Western Conference finals. I'll take the Spurs or Suns to make it to the finals if there aren't any major injuries.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-40044319088107087682008-04-20T22:40:00.000-07:002008-04-20T22:49:31.577-07:00Nuggets Lost at LakersWell the media gets the Nuggets need to play better defense. The bloggers get the Nuggets need to play better defense. The coaches get the Nuggets need to play better defense.<br /><br />But the Nuggets don't seem to understand they need to play better defense.<br /><br />Playing much of the game in a zone, the Laker simply reversed the ball and made that extra pass which often resulted in Gasol dunks. The rotations by Camby and Anthony were terrible.<br /><br />The offense was not much better. Throw the ball to Melo or AI. Let me pound the ball for 20 seconds and throw up a shot. The 2nd team looked great in the second quarter. They played defense, moved on office, and attacked the rim. But Melo has forgotten how to play on the block and how to attack the rim. It's all tough jumpers.<br /><br />In the end, we can not play for them. The team needs to figure it out. Does Melo want to talk about winning? Or does he want to win? Its up to him.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-44903470706606469162008-04-07T07:38:00.000-07:002008-04-07T07:47:23.971-07:00Wrong About Newcastle's PlayersI gotta say I was wrong about Newcastle to a degree. The initial group Keegan was playing was just not very good. Given the results of the last few weeks, he just had to find the best 11 for his team and he did.<br /><br />A good coach, adjusts his system for the players he has. Putting Michael Owen in midfield so you have your best 11 on the field was a great move. At club level, Keegan is a very good manager.<br /><br />With a new owner, it will be interesting to see if the club can build a team that will last. The ManU's, Arsenal's, and Liverpool's, all tend to buy great players when they are young and keep them through their prime. Newcastle has tended to buy older players usually past their prime. Can they change? We will see.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-66970703832168854342008-04-07T07:27:00.000-07:002008-04-07T07:37:50.556-07:00Nuggets WeekendWow. Looks like the Nuggets have played themselves right out of the playoffs. This team just can't seem to give a consistent effort on the defensive end.<br /><br />There is no way you can continue to pay the luxury tax for a team that at best will make the 8th spot or more likely won't even make the playoffs. I don't think they need to blow up the team, but I expect some changes are coming.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-64192781041454161542008-02-23T13:37:00.000-08:002008-02-23T13:53:25.097-08:00Newcastle is just not very goodAfter watching ManU just spank Newcastle, one has to say that Newcastle United is just not a very good team. They have difficulty holding onto the ball. They don't defend well, and rarely do they look like they have any chance to score from the run of play.<br /><br />All professional leagues are about the players. I think the teams moves in regard to their academy and the development of young talent is a good idea and will be the key to the success of the club in the long team. A good manager can help a team marginally, but in the end, great players will make up for any coaching deficiencies. Today's game is a shining example of that. On every part of the field, one team was clearly superior talentwise.<br /><br />Newcastle fans wanted Big Sam gone because they didn't like his style of play. Well I don't think any change in style is going to help this team. Keegan needs to bring in some more talent in any way he can. Or, Newcastle will drop right into the relegation battle.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-74289567389746025032008-02-22T13:20:00.000-08:002008-02-22T13:27:55.943-08:00No Trade = Best Deal PossibleI'm glad the Nuggets decided to stand pat, except for the minor trade for Taurean Green. Adding big money at the SF position with Artest makes no sense to me. How are you going to find playing time? Is he gonna play the SG and have Iverson at point? Plus it would have just complicated the salary cap issues.<br /><br />They have a bunch of good young players. When they get Nene and Atkins back, they will be a very competitive team. Ready to challenge for the title? I don't know. But if the keep the same core together, they should be in a good position to do just that in 2 or 3 years.<br /><br />I think both Phoenix and Dallas really mortgaged their future with the deals they made. Both of those teams have a 2 year window to challenge for the finals. Age is going to catch up with them.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-85689384715477276162008-02-06T08:03:00.000-08:002008-02-06T08:28:42.194-08:00Laker Trade and Trade TalkHaven't posted for a while. But the Laker's trade and the proposed Phoenix - Miami trade has perked my interest.<br /><br />First, the Laker's getting Pau Gasol for nothing was a huge steal! An all star caliber big without giving up any key players. Give Mitch Kupchak a raise. This definitely will put the Lakers in the top 3 teams in the west and probably keep them there for the next 5 years. Kobe and gang are relatively young. Methinks I will be watching more Laker games again. :)<br /><br />Now the proposed Phoenix trade is this. Marcus Banks and Shawn Marion for Shaq. This smacks a bit of desparation. Basically Phoenix is saying, Steve Nash only has a couple of good years left in him. We will challenge for title for 2 years and then blow things up? Pretty risky if you ask me. Especially given Shaq's health the last couple of years. He is such a big guy, all that running around has to be very hard on his joints. I just don't think there are many miles left in the diesel .<br /><br />This brings me back to the Nuggets. I sure hope they don't make a trade just because they feel like they have too. Talk is they want to trade Klieza and Najera for Ron Artest. I'm not opposed to that. Artest would be a big help defensively. But I don't see how that puts them over the top or puts them in the top 3 like the Lakers. It certainly doesn't solve their salary cap issues.<br /><br />Personally, I think they need to hold on to LK. If he continues to improve, he will be a solid NBA starter next year. They need to find a ball handling 2 guard, a big point guard, or better yet a point guard who can push the pace.<br /><br />Look to the trades made by the Jazz and the Lakers. Adding Korver to the Jazz has really helped them out. He is a nice fit for that team and will make it hard to double team Boozer and give Williams an easy target after drives. The Lakers get a PF/C who can shoot from the outside. Allowing them to post Kobe and Lamar Odom. Both trades added a missing piece to those teams.<br /><br />Sometimes it is better to be patient and wait for that missing piece.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7169468.post-87732963658612011712007-12-09T21:48:00.000-08:002007-12-09T22:06:38.961-08:00Nuggets - MavericksWell I finally had a little time to watch a game. The Nuggets played well, while the Mavs were pretty bad, especially on defense. <br /><br />I like how KMart played. Cutting to the basket, running the floor, playing defense.<br /><br />But for the Nuggets to be successful, Melo must be a force on the inside and he and Iverson have to take better shots. Melo's first 1 for 8 or 1 for 9 start is a great example of that. He must use his inside game to open up the outside. Not the other way around.<br /><br />Transistion D is still inconsistent. And defensive rebounding could be better.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05957169859719697388noreply@blogger.com0