NBA season opening night, what can we expect?

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Opening night in the NBA is finally here. It's been a very interesting offseason with a lot of changes across the NBA, from Lebron James returning to Cleveland, to the return of Derrick Rose and Kobe Bryant, there will be a lot of excitement over the next few days. Tonight's three games will feature a lot of story lines to keep an eye on.
The San Antonio Spurs open up their tittle defense against the only team to really give them a scare in last year's playoffs in the Dallas Mavericks. The Spurs will once again lead the league in wins while holding their core players to less than 35 minutes a game. Not much to be said about the defending champions, they will steamroll through the regular season with little excitement for anybody but the most passionate pure basketball fan.
 The Mavericks took the Spurs to 7 games in last year's first round but return a very different team. On paper, this seems like a much better team from a year ago, they upgraded at the Center and Small Forward position in Parsons and Chandlers as well as bring in Jameer Nelson from Orlando. However, we are skeptical on if its really going to make a difference in the ultra competitive Western Conference. The Mavericks are hoping Chandler can return to his Defensive Player of the year playing after a subpar 2013-2014 injury plagued season. After playing only 31 games and averaging 8.7 PPG and 9.6 RPG he looks to bounce back in a major way. The Mavericks only need him to be that shot blocking presence that anchors the defense, anything he does on the offensive end is a bonus but we don't believe it will happen.
Chandler has never played a full season and the highlight of his career so far has been his contributions in that 2011 title team, and his defensive player of the award that was overshadowed by a horrendous performance in the second round agains the Pacer's Roy Hibbert a year ago. We are skeptical as if his addition to the team will really translate into meaningful jump in the standings.
At point Guard, the Mavericks certainly upgraded over Calderon, while Calderon is a steady floor general that will make good decisions and take good shots, he is not the offensive threat that Nelson is. In addition to that, the ball will spend most of the time in Ellis' and Nowitzki's hands, so Nelson will be the beneficiary of a lot open jump shots something he was good at in Orlando in the Howard Turkoglu days. Finally, the most intriguing story about the Mavericks is all about Parsons, he spent all summer talking about how he felt he was ready to be that third star in Houston, and now he will get the chance to back that talk up.
On the other hand, the game we are most intrigued about is the one with the least TV advertisement, the Orlando Magic vs the New Orleans Pelicans. Why? one name: Anthony Davis, after a wonderful summer with team USA it is clear that Davis is truly the NBA's next superstar, he is a stat stuffer who doesn't need touches (although he should be getting plenty of touches). His continued development makes the most sense, and he should benefit from a full season with Jrue Holiday running the point. Should they put it all together, we see the Pelicans as the dark house to maybe sneak in as the #8 seed in the Western Conference, Davis will be an All-Star and a first team All NBA player by season's end.
The final game of the night will be all about the return of Kobe Bryant, and what a better way to start the season than to go against what many consider the best shooting guard in the league right now in James Harden? Houston should easily win this game, but a lot of people will keep their eyes out on them after they missed out on Chris Bosh and let Parsons walk.

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

The Lakers are in trouble is it time to panic?

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They were automatically elevated to favorites to come out of the Western Conference, favored by most to dethrone the Miami Heat. The reality of the matter is that this Lakers team needs to worry about winning a game before talking about western conference championships let alone being up to par with the defending champion. After a second straight loss to start out the season, the Lakers now haven't won a game since last year's playoffs. The portland Trailblazers behind a great crowd dropped 116 points on a team that's suppose to be great defensively. Mike Brown is suppose to be  great defensive coach yet after two games they are allowing way over 100 points a game.
Here's my favorite stat line of the night: Lakers scored 106 points, shot well on 2's and 3 pointers, outrebounded Portland by 15, got 33 points and 14 rebounds from Dwight Howard, 30 points from Kobe Bryant on 50% shooting, and still lost by 10 points. The main problem here is Mike Brown, who is NOT a good coach (everybody is entitled to their own opinion), since his days in Cleveland his offensive schemes have been terrible. Back in Cleveland the plan was give the ball to Lebron James and get out of his way. You can say anything about Eric Spoelstra down in Miami, but the players respect and listen to what he says, and he has repeatedly stood his ground when conflicting with his 2 superstars Wade and James. Thats more than can be said about Brown back in Cleveland, instead now he has the task of having to mix Nash, Howard, Gasol, and Kobe into a successful offensive scheme?
The princeton offense they are running is a terrible idea on a team that has Steve Nash. Why trade for one of the best passers of all time if you aren't going to unleash him? Bringing the ball up the court every possession instead of trying to run it down the other team's throat is a horrible idea, and considering that both Gasol and Howard can run the floor its even more astounding as to what it is they are doing down there.

Batum had 26 points to lead the blazers

Another major concern for the Lakers, is their bench. Which seems to be a concern since the departure of Lamar Odom. Yet when you are depending night in and out on Steve Blake to lead that second unit, what can you expect? It does not matter how good your starting 5 is, they cannot play 48 minutes a night, specially when you consider that Howard is the only player in that starting lineup that's not in his 30's. CAn you remember the last team that won a championship without a good contribution from the bench? Point guards also continue to have great games against the Lakers which has been the trend for the last few years, Damian Lillard the Rookie had 23 points and 11 assists in his first pro game, taking advantage of Nash's absence who only played 16 minutes after banging knees with the rookie
Howard despite scoring 33, is still not there athletically, several plays that last year would have been thundering dunks are now lay ins. No doubt he'll get healthier as the year progresses, and after a horrible first game at the free throw line, last night he shot 15 out of 19. Ultimately, we believe they will figure it out, but in a western conference that is stacked with good teams you do not want to start the year trailing in the standings. Oh and by the way, there next opponent is the Los Angeles Clippers, so don't be surprised if the Lakers start out 0-3 to start the season, taking the panic in Laker to the next level.
NBA News
-Stephen Curry gets 4 year extension from Golden State(44M)
-Demar Derozan gets 4 year extension from Raptors(40M)
-Taj Gibson gets 4 year extension from Bulls (38M)

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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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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The Nets will move forward today, is Howard to Brooklyn a good move for the league?

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Dwight Howard has consumed the news for quite some time now, but is Howard going to the Nets really a good thing? When the lockout was in full effect before this season started, one of the many problems to be resolved was competitive equality. Owners were worried that big market teams would always have the advantage because they can offer more money than most other teams (such as the Lakers, Knicks, Miami) to big time players. Such was the reason that a hard salary cap will kick in with the new collective Bargaining agreement in a few seasons. A Hard salary cap means that teams who go over the allowed spending limit, will have to pay luxury tax. This will allow small market teams better chance at superstar players.
But until the new hard cap kicks in, we are still facing the same issue, many general managers around the league do not want to see another quote on  quote "super team" formed. whether the Nets can be considered a super team if they acquire Howard is up to debate. However,  acquiring Howard would definitely portray the Nets as a another super team so lets think of Brooklyn as such. This would not be good for the league for a number of reasons. First, if the Nets acquire Howard it will continue the trend that  Lebron James started. since Lebron's "decision" every team wants to bring together a bunch of superstars, so Howard would definitely convert a trend into regularity. Second, that leads to lack of competitiveness around the league, if there's only 4 great teams and 26 mediocre teams, what will be the point of watching basketball when you already know what the conference championships will look like?
Now you can argue that it wont matter, look at the Oklahoma City Thunder for example. They created a championship team purely out of the draft and some smart low key trades. But it takes luck to be able to do that, the Thunder had the benefit of drafting a once in a generation superstar in Kevin Durant and happened to be bad enough to get other high picks in the draft while Durant developed. They also happened to assert correctly in their picks of Harden and Westbrook. So to do what OKC did it takes a lot of luck and picks at the right time. Thats why Howard to the Nets isn't a great move for the league. The Heat brought the league a lot of revenue and fame with their decision to come together because they did something that had never been done before, in addition it doesn't hurt that one of the players was Lebron James, one of the most polarizing players in all of major sports. whether you hate him or love him, everybody wanted to see if the Heat would fail or succeed. If Howard, goes to the Nets it will not generate the same buzz because it wouldn't be the first time it was done, and because Deron Williams and Dwight Howard aren't as popular as Lebron James and Dwyane Wade.
Even Howard to the lakers would be better for the league. The lakers wouldn't be a "Super" team, and everybody outside of Lakerland should know that. Kobe will turn 34 this august and he's in the twilight of his brilliant career. Steve Nash also happens to be 38, so they will be a very good team, but by no standards a "super" team.
Are Super teams good or bad for the league? If so what do you think would be a good solution or method to deal with them?
-Restricted free agent Linn says he was upset at the Knicks for not making the first move
-Heat introduce Allen and Lewis as they sign contract today
-Lakers will introduce Nash today
-Nets have added Stackhouse and are moving today to sign Lopez either to sign and trade him, or sign him to make him part of Brooklyn's core group for the future
-Hibbert will return to Indiana after they match Portland offer
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Nash to the Lakers puts them right back in the hunt

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It shouldn't be a surprise, we are talking about perhaps the most decorated franchise in basketball. Steve Nash, will go to the Los Angeles Lakers in a sign and trade deal that will land the suns a bunch of future first round pick. This deal seemed like a long shot for a variety of reasons. First, the Suns would not want to send the face of the franchise to one of their biggest rivals in the last decade. Steve Nash himself said its just not something he would do, he much rather beat them than join them. Second, the only way that Nash could end up in Los Angeles is with the help of the Suns in order to complete the 3 year deal that Nash wanted. So now, how good can the Lakers be?
This trade now gives the Lakers four perennial All-Stars in the starting lineup, its amazing that the Lakers get Nash and have to give up essentially nothing to get him. Nash is one of the best shooters in the league, and perhaps the best pure point guard over the last 10 years, at age 38 he averaged 12.5 ppg and 10.7 Assists. Now, it is unrealistic to expect him to average such gaudy numbers this upcoming season. Kobe Bryant will continue to dominate the offense and the Lakers do not play at the same up tempo style that the Phoenix suns play.
It will obviously take Kobe and Nash some time to learn how to play with each other considering they have both been ball-dominant their entire careers. Everybody expects Kobe to continue to dominate the ball, but perhaps if he gives Nash the reigns of the offense the Lakers might be better, it all comes down to coach Mike Brown, he will have to find a way to make it work. Gasol and Bynum should definitely be pleased with this trade, Nash will get them the ball in comfortable spots and they will now run in the open court because they know the ball will come to them.
So how good can the Lakers be? expect them to challenge for the Western Conference championship, as more days pass, it seems less likely that the Thunder are the overall favorites, the Clippers are having a strong offseason so far, and have a legit change of signing Ray Allen. Now you throw the Lakers in there and you dont know which way to go. The priority of the Thunder should clearly be signing back six man of the year James Harden. They also have to worry about free agent Serge Ibaka, and will most likely lose one of the two. The Laker's advantage will continue to be their size, but now they are poised to have an advantage in both the front court and the backcourt. There aren't many teams that can compete with their size. the Clippers have size and depth and thats why we believe they will be in the Conference Championship come april. So now between the Lakers and OKC, there will be a lot of determining factors.
The Lakers still need to do something about a very weak bench, with the departure of Odom a season ago the Lakers bench was one of the worse benches in the league. Another interesting factor, will be Health, Nash has well documented back problems and will no longer have the Phoenix medical staff, who are by far the best medical staff of the league. But barring injury, expect the Lakers to be challenging for the top seed in the West and will end up no lower than third in the very competitive Western Conference.
-Steve Nash is also trying to convince teammate and longtime friend Grant Hill to go with him to LA
-How good do you think the Lakers can be? comments and questions are welcomed
-Michael Beasley has agreed to sign with the Suns for 3 years and 18 Millions