Lakers fall to 0-3, are the Clippers for real?

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Never mind the 0-3 start, let's not continue to talk about the Lakers struggle on a night where Kobe Bryant went off for 40 points while Gasol and Howard combined for a measly 23 points. The other team that plays in Staples center is legit, and we have been saying it since the summer. The Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Lakers last night 105 to 95 and were in control of the entire game. Everybody wants to talk about the Lakers and Oklahoma as favorites to come out of the west, but what about the Clippers. Last night they showed how deep they are, their bench play was far superior to the Lakers and probably has 6th man of the year favorite in Jamal Crawford.
Jamal Crawford through 2 games is averaging 25 points, and this team is dominating and Griffin has yet to have a nice game by his standards. They are loaded, and consider the fact that Grant Hill and Chauncey Billups will be back at some point over the next month or so and that makes them even deeper. Kobe Bryant may have scored 40 and became the all time Lakers leaders in steals in the process, but Chris Paul clearly dominated the flow of the game with 18 points 15 assists, and the bomb... JUST 1 TURNOVER. They have size, their bench is deep, superstars, they can run, they can defend, yet nobody seems to want to talk about the LA Clippers and thats fine with Paul so long as they keep getting wins.

The Knicks opened up their season by routing the defending champion. Carmelo Anthony had 30 points and 10 rebounds, but the real story behind this win was the 3 pointers. The Knicks shot a blistering 52.8% on their way to 19 threes. The Heat came out slow and were buried behind the avalanche of threes. It will be interesting to see how the Knicks dynamics will change the Amar'e comes back. Note, Melo took 28 shots.
-James Harden continues to haunt everybody who says he's not capable of being a superstar down the line, by dropping 45 points in his second game with the Houston Rockets but lost in Harden's brilliance is Jeremy Lin's great first 2 games, last night he scored 21 points had 10 rebounds and 7 assists.
-The Celtics start the season 0-2 after losing to the Bucks
-Oklahoma defeated Portland for their first victory of the season
-The Charlotte Bobcats snapped a 23 game losing streak (yes you read correctly) Behind Kemba Walker's 30 points

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.

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

2012 USA team VS 1992 USA team who has the edge?

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This summer marks the 20 year anniversary of that legendary 1992 dream team that took the international basketball world by storm. So as is always the case in sports, there must be comparisons to this years team. Could the 2012 version beat the original dream team? Kobe Bryant thinks they can, while Scottie Pippen mentioned in national television that they would beat the 2012 team by 25. Where do we side on this argument? With the legendary 92 team of course, and there shouldn't be any debate here.
First lets analyze the 2012 version, they are obviously fast and loaded at every position, but they have one major weakness, and thats their lack of size. This is a very glaring need when you consider that Tyson Chandler is on the team, now this is by no means a cheap shot at Chandler who is the reigning defensive player of the year. Yet, Howard's injury left a big gaping hole for this year's group. In addition, this team's starting 5 will most likely not even feature a true PF, it will most likely see Lebron at the 4 and Melo at the 3, with Kevin Durant coming off the bench and filling the role that Dwyane Wade had in 08 (who also happens to be out of this year's olympics because of injury) as the team's leading scorer.
Kevin Love and Anthony Davis are the other bigs with Blake Griffin out with that meniscus tear. That leaves Team USA with only 3 legit big men, not to mention that Davis will probably not see a lot of time on the court. They are however very versatile and fast, and besides Chandler and Paul, every other player can play multiple positions.  This provides a matchup nightmare for opponents, they can put Lebron at just about any position. While Lebron can hold his own guarding the other team's center for some time, the same cant be said about the center that will have to guard Lebron. Not to mention having to guard the 6-10 Kevin Durant who plays like a 2 guard. All these matchup problems is what makes this team so hard to defeat at the international level (not to mention the supreme difference of talent) BUT, not if they play the 92 dream team.
The 1992 team has one overwhelming advantage, size, even if Howard had played for the 2012 team, the advantage would still be considerable down in the post. The 92 team had 11 hall of  famers, some of which were: centers Patrick Ewing and David Robinson, Power Forwards Charles Barkley, and arguably the best PF of all time (second in our humble opinion only to Tim Duncan) Karl Malone. There is no way that the 2012 version could match up with these 4. The 2012 team have three potent scorers in the wing in Durant, Lebron and Melo, but the 92 team had Scottie Pippen who was considered at the time the best defender in the WORLD,  he would no doubt spend most of his time on Durant and Lebron.
Then there's that issue of Michael Jordan, at the peak of his powers in 1992, still young and Athletic, a former defensive player of the year, he would be a problem at both ends of the floor. Everybody wants to talk about Michael vs Kobe, but think about it, 2012 Kobe is 34 years old, 92 Jordan was 29, and even if they were both at the top of their prime, Jordan would still have the advantage. Where the 2012 team could possibly have an advantage is at the point guard position, with Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Russell Westbrook running havoc with their speed and athleticism, but which one of those 3 would be able to guard the greatest PG of all time in Magic Johnson? Johnson was already at the twilight of his career, but only because he was absent due to his HIV sickness, unlike Larry Bird who had a very bad back, Magic was still a very very good player. Not to mention that 92 team had Stockton who was a underrated defender, and the all time leader in steals in the history of the league.
Overall, the game would be splendid, but the lack of size of the 2012 team, in addition with the experience and the fact that about 9 of those players in the 92 squad were in the peak of their prime (it also doesn't hurt when one of those players is the greatest of all time), we give the edge to the 92 dream team.
Do you think the size would be a big problem for the 2012 team? How could the 2012 team counter such problem and turn it into an advantage?
-Elton Brand and Chris Kaman will both join the Dallas Mavericks
-The Houston Rockets now seem to be making the most noise in their bid for Howard
-Lakers are interested in Jamison and Jermaine Oneal
-The Heat might give Greg Oden a look
-Jeremy Linn has signed his offer sheet from the Rockets, which amounts up to 3 years and 25 million all guaranteed.
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Joe Johnson to the Nets as free agency, big mistake for nets???

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With free agency on its way the Atlanta Hawks have made the most noise so far by getting rid of Joe Johnson. The Hawks have made a great move by getting rid of perhaps the worse deal of the 2010 free agency. The trade will go through as followed: the Nets will receive Joe Johnson (who still has almost 90 million and three years left on his contract), while the the Hawks receive Jordan Farmar, Johan Petro, Anthony Morrow, Jordan Williams, and Deshawn Stevenson.
The Hawks are clearly looking to clear cap space, they also traded away marvin williams for Devin Harris. So in one week they have gotten rid of their two biggest contract. This trade works perfectly for both teams, the Nets are looking to give Deron Williams a reason to stay, and now they have. This deal will only go through under the notion that Williams will resign with the Nets and he should.
The Nets will play this year in their new arena in Brooklyn, signed Gerald Wallace to a 4 year deal, and managed to keep Promising guard MarShon Brooks. The Nets will have in their starting 5 Deron Williams (should he resign), JJ, Gerald Wallace, and Brook Lopez. People perhaps have forgotten how good Brook Lopez is, he sat out this year with a foot injury but was averaging 19.2 ppg before he went down. Joe Johnson did not deserve the contract he has, and is definitely not a first option star, but joe as a second or third option behind Brook Lopez and Deron Williams is a devastating option.
The Nets will definitely make the playoffs with this group and perhaps challenge for home court in the first round. Specially against the weaker eastern conference in which after the defending champions, there is not an established second best or third team at this point. What this does though, is take the Nets out of contention for Dwight Howard. Howard made the mistake of opting into the last year of his contract, and essentially putting the ball back in the Magic's court.
Which now leads us to the other side of the trade. The Atlanta Hawk's new general manager Danny Ferry noticed something we have known for a few years. This Atlanta Hawks group's ceiling has been no more than the second round of the playoffs for the last few years. They did not get any relevant players in comparison to Joe Johnson, but now put themselves in position to sign none other than Dwight Howard next summer. The Hawks also have promising young players Al Horford and Jeff Teague to shop around. This is one of those rare big name trades in which both teams come out winning.
For years, the Hawks have had Joe Johnson dribbling the ball at the top of the key for 20 seconds of the shot clock at the end of games. Making everybody wonder why did they give him the biggest contract in the heralded 2010 free agency. Now they position themselves to potentially make a run at Dwight Howard. That being said, Joe Johnson is a GREAT player and a proven All-Star, he just isn't good enough to be the de facto go to guy. Now he'll potentially play with one of the best point guards in the game. Now, remember this only goes through if Deron Williams resigns with Brooklyn. Meanwhile the Hawks now put themselves in position to sign Dwight Howard and another great point guard who will also be a free agent in the summer of 2013, Chris Paul.
-Any questions or comments will be responded so feel free to comment