Washington Wizards 2012-2013 prediction

The Wizards are coming off a terrible season, but positioned themselves to be optimistic about their future. They finished the regular season 20-46 and that was not dead last in the conference thanks to the Bobcats Abysmal season. Yet, they got rid of some of the remaining pieces that were holding them back, first they FINALLY got rid of Javale Mcgee in a three team trade that landed them Nene and sent Nick Young to the Clippers, then they got rid of under-performing PF Andray Blatche using the amnesty clause. That was followed up by a great trade that sent Rashard Lewis to the Hornets, and landed them Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor. To top it all, they got Bradley Beal with the third overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft, so now lets look at their roster:
F Trevor Ariza, G Bradley Beal, F Trevor Bookker, G Jordan Crawford, G Shelvin Mack, F Cartier Martin, F-C Nene, C Emeka Okafor, G A.J. Price, C Kevin Seraphin, F Chris Singleton, F Jan vesely, G John Wall
Two names jump out at us from this list, the first is Bradley Beal, the reward for the Wizard's horrendous season, and of course John Wall. It is a young roster, with a veteran frontcourt. Yet, this will all depend on John Wall, now going into year 3 he must separate himself from the pack of "potential to be a star", and actually become one. If he does, then this team will be scary, Wall's numbers dropped during his sophomore season yet not by any significant margin. The wizards have a very good backcourt in Bradley Beal and Wall, Beal will make an immediate impact and has constantly been compared to Ray Allen, he scan stroke it from beyond the arc like nothing, but he can also handle the ball and take it to the rim. He also has potential to be a very good defender. Defensively, they will be better than last year just on the presence of Trevor Ariza alone.
On paper this team looks very good, they will have a post presence in Nene, and Okafor is a guy who will average a double for double for them. Will they make the playoffs? Of course not, the only way we could see the Wizards winning more than 35 games is if Wall has an All-Star season, other than that look to the future for this team. They have size, youth, speed on the perimeter, and definitely plenty of potential. We see this lot winning between 30 to 35 games and not making the playoffs, but we also expect a very great year by John Wall, who we hope has not spent the majority of his summer playing in these summer leagues.http://6fouls.blogspot.com/2012/08/charlotte-bobcats-2012-2013-prediction.html

New Orleans Hornets 2012-2013 prediction

The Hornets finished last season dead last  in the western conference following the Chris Paul trade to the Clippers. They finished with a 21-45 and their best player Eric Gordon was out most of the season. They were well rewarded for it though, with the top overall pick in this year's draft as well as the #10 pick. Let's look at the roster as it stands right now:
F Al-Farouq Aminu, F ryan Anderson, F-C Anthony Davis, G Eric Gordon, G Xavier Henry, C Robin Lopez, G Roger Mason Jr, F Darius Miller, G Austin Rivers, G Brian Roberts, F-C Jason Smith, F Lance Thomas, G Greivis Vasquez, F Hakim Warrick
On paper this is a very fun and promising team. It begins with #1 overall pick Anthony Davis, the future of the franchise and somebody who is already talking about wanting to be known for defense. Davis will make an immediate impact, and is coming off a summer of being around some of the league's top players in this year's olympics. His offense still needs a lot of room to grow, and dont expect him to produce high scoring outputs everynight. Specially playing on a team in which the only natural point guard (If you want to consider him that) is Greivis Vasquez, Austin Rivers and Eric Gordon will loook to get their own 90% of the time. We believe Davis can average close to a double double this season and at least 2 blocks. He will make up for guard's mistakes on the perimeter and will generate his points off lobs, spoon feeds, and offensive rebounds.
On the other hand, expect Eric Gordon to have a monster season, he looked excellent at the USA pre olympic camp and many considered it should have been him, instead of James Harden for that last spot. Will it generate into a postseason berth? Probably not, but there will be plenty of excitement watching these guys play. Austin Rivers, will be expected to see some minutes at the 1 and the 2, but he's a scorer by nature and thats what he'll do. It will be interesting to see how he and Gordon get along.
On the to-do list for the Hornets? Get a real point guard, Greivis Vasquez will get his chance, but we dont believe he is the future at the point guard for the Hornets. They have to let their young core of Anderson, Davis, Gordon, and Rivers develop, it wont generate a lot of wins at first, but development will come and excitement and anticipation as well. The Hornets wont finish dead last this year in the conference, we believe they will win between 25 and 33 games, and while playoffs is what they are shooting for, we dont see the playoffs in the heavy loaded western conference for this young squad for another 2 years.

Charlotte Bobcats 2012-2013 prediction

The Charlotte Bobcats had one of the worse seasons in NBA history last year, they finished the regular season 7-59 and with the worse winning % in the history of the league. These are the players entering the next season:
G Ben Gordon, F Tyrus Thomas, C Desagana Diop, F Matt Carroll, G Gerald Henderson, G Ramon Sessions, F-C Bismack Biyombo, F Reggie Williams, G Kemba Walker, C Brendan Haywood, C B.J Mullens, F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, F Jeff Taylor
Free Agents: Dj White, F Derrick Brown

Clearly the big name here is rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist who comes in as the second overall pick of this year's draft and with high expectations.  Gilchrist is a 6-7 specimen who will be an elite defender in this league. He can guard anywhere from the 1 to the 3 and perhaps even the 4. His motor is nonstop and he will bring energy to a team that desperately needs it. In addition, Gilchrist will immediately make them better on both ends of the floor. Now, the Bobcats have a lot of issues, particularly with whether to give the big chunk of their minutes to their veterans (and try to get more wins) or their young players (and let them develop). Either way, they are not going to win many games so they should go with their young players in our minds.

The issue begins at the point guard position, where young college legend Kemba Walker seemed to be on his way to becoming the Bobcat's permanent starting point guard with the departure of DJ Augustine, but instead the Bobcats went ahead and brought in Ramon Sessions who is clearly a starting point guard in the NBA. Yet, we believe Walker should be the starting point guard, we already know the ceiling for Ramon Sessions but we have yet to seen Kemba's and he should be handed the keys to the car.
In addition, the bobcats bring in first time NBA coach Mike Dunlap who was the assistant coach at St John's university, Dunlap is widely respected around the NBA for his knowledge of the game and player development, which is key considering the Bobcat's players.

Bottom line, the Bobcats will lose a lot of games, but they need to let Walker, Kid-Gilchrist, Biyombo, and Henderson to develop at their own pace and let the rebuilding process begin. We project the Bobcats to win between 17 and 22 games and finish dead last in the eastern conference.

top PF going into 2012-2013, #1 Kevin Love

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Here it is, our number 1 ranked power forward heading into the 2012-2013 NBA season, Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Kevin Love had a breakout year, he averaged a ridiculous 26 PPG and 13.3 RPG while shooting 37% from behind the arc. Love was well beyond ahead of the rest of the power forwards in both scoring and rebound and was 4th overall in point per game in the league. Love began his incredible rise by shedding 20 pounds last summer, this allowed him to come in much better shape and much more mobile than previous years.
Kevin Love is a rebounding machine, and that was obvious since he stepped foot in this league that he would dominate rebounding for the next decade. Dwight Howard may lead the league in rebounding, but in our minds Kevin Love is a more impressive rebounder. Love is not overly athletic, but nobody in the league knows how to position himself better to rebound on both ends of the floor. His offensive rebounds are timely scoring opportunities. Look at this play, Love sets the pick that gives Ridnour the wide open lane, now rather than assume that Ridnour will score the easy floater, he rolls to the rim to continue the pick and roll and crashes the offensive glass for the easy tip in. Kevin Love attacks the offensive glass every time, and that is key. He understands he's not going to get an offensive rebound every time down the floor, but he increases his chances by trying. Here, we see Love slip the pick and roll (something he does often and very well), despite missing the shot, it took him less than 3 seconds to catch and tip that in.
Now, Love is an offensive nightmare, at 6-10 he has "in the gym" range. His jumpshot is his favorite and most deadly weapon. The reigning three point shootout champion, Love has a great form and release on his jumpshot. He can shoot coming off a curl, or set shots, or pick and pops it does not matter. Just look at the first 3 plays of this video if you think he cant shoot. He sets his feet great for every jumpshot he takes, giving himself a balance on every shot. Love also has a rare skill, he does not need to bring the ball down to comfortably shoot his jumpshot, something few players in the league can do (young players are taught to try to bring the ball straight up from the point at which they caught the ball particularly bigs in the post)
Being big though, means that Love has to play in the low post. Love gets a variety of points in the paint. He is not going to wow you with a a polished offensive repertoire, but he has an established go to move down there, and thats what critics look for now a days in their bigs. He has a right handed hook that he uses effectively. Here we see his patience in the post, after finally getting space to operate he backs his way down on a great defensive player in Martin and shoots his running hook over his left shoulder. Love has a soft touch, and knows how to use his body to get where he wants to go even when he's not as athletic as the others.
Kevin Love is the best power forward in the game, his array of skills is unmatched, he is a matchup nightmare and his rebounding prowess is special. Does he have room for improvement? Of course, Love is a career 0.5 BPG player, that definitely could improve, nobody expects Love to be handing out 3 to 4 blocks a game like Dwight Howard, but one block a game should not be so hard for a player of his skills. He's a modest defender, definitely not a liability, but he has room for improvement in his one on one defense as well. Despite this, his rebounding obviously shows he is a plus on the defensive end of the floor. Love was the best power forward this year, and he's only 23!!! We expect to see Love right back here next year, and if the Timberwolves continue to improve in the win column, the best power forward in the game will be in the middle of it all.
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Top PF going into 2012-2013, #2 Dirk Nowitzki

We continue our countdown of the top power forwards heading into the 2012-2013 NBA season with Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks at #2. The big german could have easily been our #1, but after much debating within our committee we decided to place him at #2. Nowitzki is coming off a disappointing season for his great standards. He was ousted in the first round of the playoffs by the eventual conference champions Thunder. Dirk's number for the regular season were 21.6 PPG, and 6.7 RPG. However, during the playoffs he was scoring a whooping 26.8 PPG.
Nowitzki, has held the "best power forward in the game" title for a few years now. His offensive power is matched by none. Dirk is one of the greatest shooters the game has ever seen amongst all positions. He is a 7 footer with quite a wide wingspan and a great high release on his shot. He plays with both his back to the basket but more importantly facing up. Now his numbers were down to begin the season because of an injury but once he picked it up, we seen him back to his old tricks. Look at this play, Dirk backs up his defender in the low post (something many think he does not have), and then catches him with the beautiful up an under. Nowitzki knows he can get his jump shot off against anybody, but that doesn't mean that shooting a perimeter shot is always the best option for him. His bread and butter is of course his jumpshot, which is better than half of the league's guards. He can score off the catch and shoot, coming off screens, or off the dribble. When defenders try to play up on him, he goes right by them. In addition, Dirk can shoot the three with consistency, and is a career 88% free throw shooter. Basically, he's unstoppable on the offensive end. His patented one foot fade away jumpshot is unguardable, and even when you play perfect defense, he will score easily.
Now Dirk's unmatched offensive ability masks a lot of his deficiencies. For somebody who is 7 feet tall, he isn't a great rebounder. His career average in that department is 8.3, and last season it was an abysmal 6.7 RPG. Now, generally Dirk steps it up in the playoffs in regards to rebounding, his career rebounding average is 10.3 for the playoffs. Yet, in four games games against Oklahoma City, he averaged a mere 6.3 RPG. He definitely needs to step it back up this season if he wishes to continue to be considered the top 2 or 3 power forwards in the league. In addition, Nowitzki is an average defender, he averaged a very disappointing 0.5 BPG this season, and against Oklahoma city, failed to register a single block.
Nowitzki will continue to dominate the game with his scoring and elite shooting. However, for him to maintain his high standing on this list, he must rebound much better than he did this season and must bring his shooting percentage a little bit up back to its normal 47% percent clip. We don't expect Dirk's offense to drop off too much over the next few years (considering that he doesn't depend one bit on his Athleticism), and thus he will high on this list a year from now.
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Top PF going into 2012-2013, #3 Blake Griffin

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We continue our countdown of the top power forwards heading into the 2012-2013 NBA season with Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers at #3. Blake Griffin had another marvelous all star season, which culminated with a humbling loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Let's look at Griffin's regular season numbers, he averaged 20.7 PPG and 10.9 RPG and 3.2 APG. However, his playoff numbers weren't terrific, dropping to 19.1 PPG and only 6.9 RPG. Now against Memphis he was going up against a very good front court in Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. However, Griffin underperformed for his high standards.
Griffin is an underrated offensive player, due in large part to his highlight reel dunks. But Griffin doesn't average 21 points a game purely on dunks, if that was so then a lot more players would be averaging 20 plus points. He has a good face up game, and is very good at using his shoulders to create separation with contact after attacking the rim. For somebody who's only played two seasons in the league (excluding his injured rookie season where all we saw was preseason) he has very good footwork in the low post. Look at this play, how many bigs in the league are this poised in the low post? Jab step, one dribble baseline, half spin back middle and then the beautiful up an under. What's scary is he still has room for a lot of improvement in the low post. After all, Griffin is still not developed enough for you to give it to him and expect a near automatic basket.
Now, his bread and butter is of course his ability to finish at the rim. He is a nightmare in the pick and roll and occasionally can pop out and hit the jumper. When he rolls to the basket, its pretty much 2 points, or two free throws, or a basket and a foul. Half the time we get a highlight reel, or a once in a decade dunk posterization. He also runs the floor pretty much like a guard, he is very mobile and besides the fact that he can run well, he knows he's going to get the ball so he runs his lanes and makes the defense commit even if he doesn't get the ball. He is also a very good ball handler for his size and a good passer. Here, we see him run the break effectively and being the passer instead of the receiver for a highlight play.
Now, for all his prowess and highlight dunks, his defense is suspect to say the least. He averages 0.6 BPG in his short NBA career. For somebody who averages 11 rebounds a game easily, it is incredibly disappointing to see that he doesn't average a single block a game. Perhaps he does not put enough effort into that department, but for him to be an ALL NBA player for the next decade and lead his team deeper into the playoffs, he MUST become a better defender. Blake can easily be a very good weak side defender with his athletic ability. He should also be a better one on one defender considering his 6-10 frame. In addition he must become a much better free throw shooter. This is specially a big issue for him right now, because he lacks a good free throw percentage, he is unable to be trusted with the ball in the fourth quarter.
Griffin will be a top 3 PF for the next decade, but for him to take that next step into being considered the best, he needs to become a better defender. In addition, he must continue to develop a low post game, starting with ONE establish low post move and it is critical that his free throw percentage goes up. We have no doubt that he will get better in all these areas, when he does look for Blake to continue his meteoric rise.
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The USA wins Gold medal behind Durant's 30

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It was a tough game throughout, Spain gave it all, but ultimately Kvin Durant, Lebron James, Kobe Bryant and some clutch plays by Chris Paul were too much. The USA defeats Spain 107-100 in what could possibly be coach Krzyzewski's last Olympics.
The first half was played at the tempo that Spain wanted it, they did not turn the ball over and were led by Navarro's 19 points who had a dismal tournament until the gold medal game. Of course USA wanted to get out and run, but you cant get out and run if you don't create turnovers. Durant had 17 points in the first half, and Lebron 8 points and 6 rebounds. The third quarter was dominated by Pau Gasol who scored 15 points in the third quarter and kept the game close. During the fourth quarter, Lebron sat with 4 fouls, and Spain went to a box and 1 defense on Durant, but after being up 6, Lebron came back into the game and scored a quick 5 points, that was followed by a Chris Paul layup and that all but sealed the gold medal for the US.
Durant finished with 30 points and the most points by an Olympic player in one olympics. Gasol was clearly the best player on the floor today, finished with 24 points 8 rebounds and 7 assist and another silver medal. Navarro finished with 21 points, Marc Gasol with 17 points but he had 4 fouls in the first half and that was definitely a factor as he sat on the bench for the whole third quarter. Lebron James now caps his amazing year with a gold medal, leaves the Olympics second all time in scoring and if he chooses to come back 4 years from now, will become first on that list. Kobe Bryant leaves international play with a gold medal, and reiterated that he will not be back 4 years from now.
On a side note, Russia defeated Argentina in the Bronze medal game with a controversial ending, Alexei Shved scored 25 points, and Russia won a medal for the first time in Olympic basketball. Argentina's players left the court in disgust after they felt the ref's didn't call a late foul.

Dwight Howard drama finally over (apparently) as he's traded to the Lakers

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After months of drama and saga, it seems that Howard finally will get his wish. According to sources, the 4 team proposed trade is as follows: the Lakers would of course receive Dwight Howard, the Denver Nuggets will get Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia (coming from Philadelphia) will get Andrew Bynum (coming from the Lakers) and Jason Richardson (coming from the Magic), and the Magic would get a first round draft pick from each of the other 3 teams,  and Rookie Moe Harkless from Philadelphia.
Now several key notes to consider, first Dwight Howard will still NOT sign an extension with the Lakers, he would still seek to become a free agent next summer and it is  perceived that the Dallas Mavericks would be his preferred destination should he not return to the Lakers. Secondly, notice that Kobe Bryant got his wish, Pau Gasol was not traded. The Lakers now catapult themselves into immediate championship contenders alongside the Oklahoma City Thunder and the defending champions.
The Philadelphia 76ers here are the surprise winners, they have been looking to trade Iguodala for some time now, who could have thought that they would land the second best center in the league in Bynum???? If this trade goes through, there is no reason why Bynum would not sign an extension with the 76ers, they are a already a playoff team without him, they have great young talent and Bynum grew up about an hour away. Could you imagine a backcourt of Jrue Holiday, Evan Turner, Nick Young, alongside Thaddeus Young and Andrew Bynum? They will be scary, perhaps not tittle contenders, but trouble in a first or second round series.
The Denver Nuggets acquire Iguodala and George Karl will put the swift army knife to good use, they are young and exciting. Ultimately, the Magic will now be very bad for a few years as is usually the case when a team trades their superstar away. As for the Lakers, the success of this trade (SHOULD the trade go through) depends on two things, the first their ability to win a championship right away, and two, can they manage to convince Howard to stay in LA.  There are still many questions to be answered, will Kobe and Nash make it work in the backcourt? How will Howard's back hold up coming off surgery? And finally, Will David Stern pull a "Basketball reasons" excuse to cancel this trade just as he did with Chris Paul's trade to the Lakers?

As we head into the elimination round, what role will each USA player play?

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As elimination round begins, let's take a look at what each player has to do for team USA to take gold in London.
Chris Paul
Paul lead the USA in minutes played in the preliminary round, he will be the starting point guard, he must be a bulldog on the defensive end, stifling opposing backcourt players to create turnovers and transition offense for his team, we all know that the US wants to get out on the open court, and Paul must be the first catalyst of that. Defense leading to offense, dont expect much scoring from him, he knows this team doesnt need him to score, he will focus more on getting Kevin Durant open looks and finding his wing players on the fast break.
Kobe Bryant
Kobe is the starting SG, at this point we don't know understand why, he has been extremely inefficient with his shot selection, and sometimes tries to force the issue on a team where frankly he does not need to (shot 4-17 going into the Australia game). In addition, his defense (which was his calling card in beijing) hasn't been all that good. Perhaps he's biding his time for when it matters most, but Kobe needs to choose his spots on offense and focus on being that bulldog he was in international play on defense.
Kevin Durant
Durant needs to do what he has been doing, shooting the ball. He's the USA's leading scorer and nothing more is expected of him but to shoot the basketball.
Lebron James
The US's swift army knife, Lebron must continue to do whatever is necessary for this team. For the most part he has not looked to score unless needed and is more interested in being a facilitator and thats what he must continue to do. His presence is more needed on the defensive end though, where he is asked to guard bigger low post players every game, aside from Chandler and Love who else with playing time can guard bigger players with consistent success?
Tyson Chandler
The Team's only true big man, stay out of foul trouble Chandler
Deron Williams
Williams must do the same as Chris Paul and try to limit his turnovers, he has been a turnover machine in these olympics, which does not help the US much.
Russell Westbrook
Westbrook has been the team's best perimeter defender, tormenting opposing ball handlers and providing energy for his team with his highlight dunks, he needs to do the same on defense and NOT take crazy shots 2 seconds into the shot clock
Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo has clearly been a monster scoring the ball, nothing more is expected of him as he battles Durant for USA leading scorer,
Andre Iguodala
The mini swift army knife, he needs to continue to be a lockdown defensive threat whether its guarding 6-10 bigs, or 6-3 guards, on offense anything he provides will be a boost.
Kevin Love
After Carmelo, Love is the most important player off the bench, the only other big on the team with legitimate playing time, he has to establish himself in the low post and NOT shooting threes, and HAS to rebound, he knows he will be depended on heavily when Chandler gets in foul trouble, and must be a presence inside.
James Harden
make threes? Harden does not play a lot, when he does the game has usually been decided
Anthony Davis
Must remember to put his jersey on before walking out on the floor

Team USA destroys Argentina 126-97, but they shouldn't take much from this win

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As the pre elimination round ends, Olympic basketball has some interesting stories developing. Team USA and Russia have clinched the top  seeds in their respective groups. USA will face Australia in the quarterfinals and we expect no surprise there, USA will roll through Australia. Now, Brazil defeated Spain today in a very odd game. The winner would fall into USA's group and would have to face them to get to the Gold medal game whereas the loser would fall in Russia's bracket and therefore not have to see the US until the gold medal game. Tanking the game was obviously one of the story lines coming into the game. However, both teams competed and had their marquee players out on the floor at the end of the game. Brazil edged out in large part to Leandro Barbosa who had a monster second half and finished with 23 points (Barbosa is still a free agent by the way, and should be helping his stock with his performance in the Olympics). That means that Spain falls out of USA's radar and into Russia's, Spain will face a France team led by Tony Parker in the quarterfinals.  Spain, who was viewed as the US's biggest threat has now lost twice after holding big leads.
They were up 20 to 2 against Russia and lost, and led most of the game against Brazil until Brazil's bench came in the fourth quarter and just swung the momentum into Brazil's favor. Some will suggest that perhaps Spain Tanked, but it didn't seem like it, with Both Gasol brothers out at the end of the game.  So now, is Spain still the biggest threat to USA? sure they have the Gasol brothers and Ibaka, but they are counting heavily on Juan Carlos Navarro who right now isn't looking like himself because of a foot injury. Then there's the US bracket side, and a possible rematch in the semi finals with today's opponent Argentina. USA destroyed Argentina in the second half, with the final score being 126 to 97. They scored an incredible 42 points in the third quarter. Kevin Durant was playing back in rucker park New York, as he shot 8-10 from the three point line and finished with 28 points. The game got chippy, and there will be no love lost should they meet in the semi finals.
Argentina will play against Brazil in the quarterfinals, and that game will be a goody. Both teams have NBA talent aplenty, and Brazil's coach happens to be the same coach who was with Argentina in their 2004 Gold medal run in Athens. Argentina is savvy and have Manu Ginobili and Luis Scola, who have proven they can play against the USA and score at will (not to mention Delfino and Nocioni). Brazil will be led by Huertas, the best pg outside of the NBA (he makes too much money in Europe and therefore has no reason to come to the NBA), Barbosa, Splitter, Varejao, and NENE. Whatever the outcome, one notion is certain, the USA will face a tough challenge in the Semis. Don't look so much into today's game against Argentina, team USA wont score 42 points in the third quarter again like they did today and Argentina clearly rested their main guy because ultimately outside of competitive drive and egos, today's game meant nothing.
As for the prospect of playing Brazil again, remember that in the exhibition game, Brazil was up 10 before Huertas came out the game. Once Huertas came out the game, the US turned Brazil's young backup pg over and over with pressure from Paul and Westbrook. Should they play again, Huertas wont be out the game much, and that wont happen as often.
All in all, the #USA are still the favorites, but as the first half of today's game showed you, they are beatable, it's in the air and the other team's know it. The question is, should the USA falter at some point, can the other team take advantage of it?
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top PF going into 2012-2013, #4 Pau Gasol

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We continue our countdown of the Top power forwards going into the 2012-2013 NBA season with Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers at #4. Pau Gasol, is in our minds a very underrated player (kind of Like Chris Bosh), his style of play which is more finesse than anything else gives the casual viewer a believe that Gasol is "soft" or not that good. Yet, Gasol is one of the most skilled players in the league, not amongst bigs but amongst EVERY player in the league. Let's look at Gasol's numbers last season, Gasol had a very disappointing postseason by his standards. Over 12 playoff games he averaged just 12.5 PPG, 9.5 RPG and 2.1 Blocks but still an impressive 3.7 APG. Now, Gasol was playing his first year under Mike Brown who featured Andrew Bynum as the main post presence instead of Gasol. Yet, look at his regular season numbers (which many considered to be an "off" year for him) 17.4 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 1.4 BPG and 3.6 APG. How many players in this league can average those numbers and considered to have an "off year"?
Gasol is dominant on both sides of the floor, lets begin with his offense. He has a full arsenal of post moves at his disposal. He can finish with both his left and right hand around the rim, and uses his 7.0 feet to perfection. He's not overly athletic, nor does he need to be, Gasol's baby hook shots around the rim are unguardable, and its more problematic when you consider that his left hand hook is just as good as his right hand hook. Against stronger defenders he faces up and uses quickness to go around them. Gasol also happens to have a GREAT jumpshot, he has range up to the three point line and his form and quickness release are as good as anybody's. He run's the floor extremely well, look at this play, Gasol runs the floor down the middle, this is fundamental basketball that most bigs now a days don't do. After not receiving the ball he stays in the middle and as the play rolls on it ends up with a Gasol "and 1" basket. "Fundamentally Sound" is what Gasol is, if you look at the play again, not only was he fouled but as soon as he catches the ball he goes straight up and DOES NOT bring the ball down. This is something that almost no big remembers or learns at any level of basketball ( have you ever seen Dwight Howard doing that?)
His last quality, and our favorite is his passing ability. Steve Kerr (TNT analyst and former player) says that Pau Gasol is the best passer on the Los Angeles Lakers squad, and we tend to agree. (Kobe bryant averages more assist, but that doesnt make him a better passer, after all he has the ball in his hands all the time) Bynum loves to play with Gasol because he knows that Gasol will give him 4 to 6 points a game just on big to big passes. Look at this great shovel pass to Bynum, 95% of bigs will shoot the ball once they have position that deep, Gasol is a willing passer whether its from the high post, low post or "high to low" passes, he will deliver it on target.
Now on the defensive end Gasol uses his length to be a factor. He does not fall for pump fakes and uses the most simple of defensive rules: "stand straight and keep your hands up",his pick and roll defense is also great, he shows strong on the guards and his lateral quickness allows him to recover to his man.
Gasol had an off season by his standards, it was his first year in a new system that did not premier him as the second scoring option on the team and thus he struggled a bit. He often wondered too much to the perimeter and wasn't aggressive enough. We expect that to change, Gasol will have a full training camp with new coach Mike Brown, and the addition of Nash will benefit him GREATLY. Expect gasol to have another terrific year and stay high on this list. Gasol's finesse style of play gives fans the impression that he's soft and has been the subject of a lot of trade rumors. He wont give you 25 points a night, but he will give you 18 points 12 rebounds 5 assist 3 blocks a steal, and great defense. He's a stat sheet stuffer and there's a reason why Kobe will not allow the Lakers to trade him. Bottom line, Gasol is one of the best in this business, and one of the last rare big men with fundamentals.
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Carmelo Anthony reminds everybody he's a big part of this team

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It wasnt pretty, (at least the final score wasn't) but one thing was clear, everybody seemed to have forgotten how great Carmelo Anthony is. After a disappointing NBA season, Melo rejoined this olympic squad for his third and what will possibly be his last time. He was now in the shadows of Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, and yes even Kevin Durant who is arguably the best player on this team after Lebron James. To top it off, Melo also lost his olympic starting spot to Durant, something he's held since 2006.
Yet, in one game Carmelo Anthony showed us why he is (and not Durant) considered the best PURE scorer in the world. Anthony shot an incredible 13 for 16 from the field and 10 for 12 from the three point line on his way to a record shattering 37 points. The US rolled through Nigeria 156 to 73, unlike the previous games of the day which featured a thriller between Spain and Great Britan, and Brazil and Russia, both games came down to the wire. Oh, did we mention that Carmelo only played 14 minutes? Yes 37 points ON JUST 14 minutes!!
The beauty of Melo's game is that he can do it every way possible. He's deadly on 1 on 1 coverage, blowing by slower bigger defenders and posting up smaller ones. He can shoot the three ( did you not just read that he shattered the scoring record?  And we also forgot the record for made three's and attempted) whether spotting up or creating off the dribble. He can handle the ball as well, all in all Melo is a bully. It is an insult to his game and sacrifice over the years in international play when we forget about him on this team.
As far as his record breaking, there will be critics of course. People will say that the US played against a greatly inferior team in Nigeria. No disrespect against the Nigerians of course, but not many people can go 10 for 12 from the three point line shooting by themselves, let alone on the biggest stage of the world against professional basketball players. Anthony, could have easily scored over 40 had coach Krzyzewski decided to play him in the fourth quarter. Would Melo had come back in the game if asked? Of course he would he knew he was making history, but when asked he will downplay his record,  and say that all that mattered was the win. But just because Melo will downplay his big day, it does not mean we should downplay the importance of Carmelo Anthony on this national team.
Other news of the day
-The Russians defeated Brazil on a last second 3 to win a thriller
-France defeated Lithuania behind 27 from an out of shape Parker
-Spain defeated Great Britan but just barely escaped with a one point win
-Celtics coach Doc Rivers says he's open to coaching the US team next
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Top PF going into 2012-2013, #5 Kevin Garnett

Image from Theawesomemeboston.com

Here we go, now things get interesting. We continue our countdown of the top power forwards going into the 2012-2013 NBA season with Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics at #5. Now, it took some time for us to decide where to put the ageless Garnett, but after watching plenty of film and consulting with our committee of 1, we decided that Garnett deserved to be at #5. The first problem with placing Garnett in this group is determining whether he even belongs in the "power forward" department. Celtics coach Doc Rivers began using Garnett at the center position some time during the season right about after the All-Star weekend all the way to the end of their season in game 7 against the Heat. Ultimately though Kevin Garnett is a 4, a power forward. Or in his own words: "Preference-wise, I don’t like it, to be honest with you. I’m a 4. I don’t like, you know -- it's what it is. I’ll be whatever this team needs me to be. Other than a cheerleader with pom-poms and some short-shorts. Other than that, whatever this team needs me
to be, man, I’ll be it". Just like Lebron James played PF through the playoffs Kevin Garnett played Center, and Lebron is still known as a small forward, so we will continue to call Garnett a power forward.
Now lets get into the fun stuff, Garnett averaged 15.8 PPG, 8.2 RPG, and 1.0 BPG on 50% shooting from the field. Don't be fooled by these numbers though, Garnett was only averaging a little bit over 31 minutes a game no doubt conserving his body for the playoffs. And boy did it show, during these 2012 playoffs he averaged 19.2 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 1.5 BPG and 1.3 SPG. Garnett was unstoppable on both ends of the floor and became Rondo's favorite target during their Eastern Conference Finals run.
Garnett is one of the best 2 way players the league has ever seen (If it wasn't for his lack of multiple championships do you think there would be any doubt about who the best power forward in the history of the league would be?). Garnett has been primarily a jumpshooter ever since he arrived to Boston, his jumpshot out to 23 feet is flawless. His shot has a high arc release and very quick, he uses his full 6-11 size and a wingspan well over 7 feet to get his shot off. Garnett is a dangerous pick and roll player to defend, mostly he will pop out to shoot the jumper but he will roll and finish when he has to.

His most deadly weapon is his turn around jumpshot, it is virtually unguardable. Take this play Garnett does a few things right that most bigs wouldn't do, first he catches the ball deep in the paint. Secondly, he notices that Horford is coming to double team, so he spins AWAY from the double team into his patented turnaround jumpshot, now mind you despite all this Smith played beautiful defense, but Garnett uses his length to perfection to get off a quality shot. We have always said you cant take size or length for granted and Garnett has both. Garnett is also a big who excels at playing both with his back to the basket and also facing his defender. When facing up, he uses his quickness to his advantage to score around stronger but slower bigs. But our favorite Garnett quality is his craftiness, look at this play  in which Garnett gets a post entry pass from the top of the three point line. Garnett is posted up at about the mid level-to-high post area. Bradley cuts from the right side of the wing as soon as Garnett receives the ball, instead of focusing on the cut or his own man, Garnett focuses on Bradley's defender and sets a screen while having the ball thus giving bradley a point blank layup. You can count with your hands the number of people who can do that successfully in the NBA. It was just a tap, not enough to warrant a call from the referee.

Dont forget about Kevin Garnett's defense now, Garnett is a lock down defender. He uses his aggressive style to get under player's skin and has the lateral quickness (still at 36 years of age) to be able to switch out on pick and rolls and guard perimeter players. He's a great weak side helper with timely blocks and very vocal. Now a days, players underestimate the value of being vocal on the defensive end. Garnett also knows how to get into player's head and his little "dirty" tricks are key in his defensive tenacity. Garnett at age 36 is clearly on the decline, but his monster postseason warrants his #5 positioning entering the 2012-2013 NBA season. Garnett matches his production on the offensive end with his tenacious defense. He has been the ultimate two way player over the last decade and we have no doubt that come the end of next season he'll still be in the top 10.

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