Let’s get cooking.

Ingredients

1. Coaching:
Phil Jackson, Greg Pop, Larry Brown and Doc Rivers are the only active coaches that have coached NBA champions over the course of the last 15 years. The only other coach to win a title in that span is Miami Heat President and GM Pat Riley, who is certainly no stranger to championship parades. more...

TheHoopsForum Power Rankings
By Ron Campbell 2/17/2009
All-Star weekend was very cool, Kevin Durant had set a record and won a game of horse. Daequan Cook in his second season and won the three point shooting contest. Shaquille O'Neal came out with the Jabba WockeeZ and held his own. The West blew the East out 146 to 119, the game started out very competitve but the East lack of size caught up to them as the West repeatedly went into Shaquille O'Neal in the third quarter, Shaq finished with 17 points and a ton of laughs. Here are the rankings: more...

TheHoopsForum Power Rankings
By Ron Campbell 2/9/2009
One of my life dreams is to give an NBA player a new nickname that sticks and I think I have it after watching Ramon Sessions slice and dice his way to 44 points against the Knicks on Saturday. I have decided to officially call him Razor Ramon, Razor Ramon yeah I like that. After careful review of the Clevevand vs. Knicks game, the League determined that one of Lebron's rebounds should have been given to Ben Wallace, too bad Lebron there is always next year. I was beginning to take the Nuggets seriously but after being blown out by 44 on the road to the Nets who play poorly at home I am writing them off as West contenders. Lakers and Spurs are the only legitimate Western conference contenders. more...

Week In Review
2/6/2009
Chris Bosh announced this week that he will not be re-signing with the Toronto Raptors in the summer of 2010. All summer long when discussing the upcoming season, I didn’t envision a scenario in which the Toronto Raptors would make the playoffs. The Bucks had gotten better, the Knicks had gotten D’Antoni and Wade was returning after an injury riddled 2008 campaign. The main reason I didn’t envision the Raptors making the playoffs in 2009 even though they were there in 2007 and 2008 was because of their so called franchise player Chris Bosh. more...

Weekend Preview - SUPERBOWL EDITION
By Zoo 1/30/2009
This weekend the Arizona Cardinals meet the Pittsburgh Steelers in the last meaningful game of the NFL regular season. There is NO D in the word Pittsburgh but the Steelers have a historic defense which will counter anything the Cardinals will try to do on offense. Can Arizona win? Of course they can, didn't the New York Giants beat an undefeated Patriots team just 1 year ago? Don't we have the first black President in the long and storied history of this country? Kevin Garnett said it best last year when he led his Celtics to their first NBA Championship in 20 years ... ANYTHING IS POSSIBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBLLLLLLLLLEEEEEE!!!! more...

What I Saw Last Night
By Zoo 1/29/2009
Boston 119 Sacramento 100.

Eddie House made what seemed like 8000 three pointers against the Kings. He hit from every angle with or without a hand in his face. He was actually a career high 8-9 from three point range and scored 28 points as the Celtics won their 9th straight game and became the 1st team to 38 wins.

more...

Roundtable: All-Star Reserves
By Ron Campbell 1/27/2009
Ron Campbell: With the NBA All Star Reserves days away from being announced, thehoopsforum decided to breakdown our reserve selections. Let start with the East, we already know Allen Iverson, Dwayne Wade, Lebron James, Kevin Garnett and leading vote getter Dwight Howard will start. Here are my picks: more...

TheHoopsForum Power Rankings
By Ron Campbell 1/26/2009
The Lakers are dangerous right now, Andrew Bynum seems to finally be returning to his old self, he scored a career high 42 points versus the Clippers last week. What makes the Lakers so good is their bench, when you take a look at their bench they are really 5 other guys who are qualified to be starters, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, Trevor Ariza, Vladimir Radmonovic and Lamar Odom could all start for other teams. What else makes the Lakers special? Well its Kobe Bryant and his commitment to get his teammates involved, Bryant is averaging 7.4apg in January. The Celtics have won eight in a row and seem to be out of their funk. Eric Gordon is averaging 22.4ppg in January which proves that every dark cloud has a silver lining.more...

Overrated
1/23/2009
I have been watching the NBA with regularity for the last 18 years. Over the years I have seen several stars come and go from O.J. Mayo to Larry Bird and Derrick Rose to Magic. By now I have figured out which players can possibly lead a team to the championship or even at least the NBA Finals. For some reason, I swear, the majority of the media still does not understand exactly what it takes to win an NBA championship. Several players are considered superstars, but I'm going to let you in on a little secret, they will never get it done for their organization. As far as I'm concerned, the next few championships will come down to L.A., Boston, Cleveland or Orlando. Here is a list of players that are masquerading as Championship level players. more...

What I Saw Last Night JAY-Z Edition
By Zoo 1/23/2009
Imaginary Player:
Jameer Nelson has been given a lot of credit for the Magic's record setting start. And rightfully so ... to a certain extent. He has been playing the best basket ball of his career. But is that really him? He was 1/9 in the 1st half against a team he most certainly may have to see if his team has any REAL championship aspirations. more...

What I Saw Last Night ...
By Zoo 1/22/2009
First things first, I Zoo get it. When I say I get it, I mean I UNDERSTAND. MLK had a vision of equality and on 1/20/2009 that vision became a reality as Barack Obama was sworn in as the first ever Black President of the U.S.A. I get the fact that this is the greatest country in the world and that ANYTHING is attainable through hard work, personal sacrifice and by the good graces of a higher power.... more...

TheHoopsForum Power Rankings
By Ron Campbell 1/19/2009
The Magic have beaten the San Antonio Spurs and the Lakers twice this season and are on a seven game winning streak and that is why they find themselves at the top of the ranking. The Bobcats traded Matt Carroll and Ryan Hollins this week to the Dallas Mavericks for Desagna Diop, Diop should provide more defense on the front line. What do Toronto, Detroit and Memphis have in common they all are on a five game losing streak.

Today is Martin Luther King day take a moment today and reflect on the sacrifices that Martin Luther King made for all of us,

"Thank God almighty we are free at last" - Martin Luther King more...

Week in Review
What to do with McGrady
1/16/2009
Tracy McGrady announced earlier this week that he will be retiring from the game of basketball for the next two weeks. McGrady advised the “retirement” was due to chronic health issues and said he will be using the time to work on his conditioning. From what I have seen from McGrady this season, he clearly has gained a lot of muscle and fat. You really got to ask yourself what happened to this guy. When did he become such a biotch? Don’t get me wrong, I knew for years that McGrady suffered from a few different heart conditions. He has cardiac-playoffitis, which is a very serious disease; it doesn’t allow a player to take his game to the next level or get his team out the first round of the playoffs. Kevin Garnett is actually survivor of this disease. more...

I think I saw the Champs
By Zoo 1/15/2009
San Antonio 112 L.A. Lakers 111.

Roger Mason completed a 3 point play with 10 seconds left and the Spurs got a typical Hall of Fame effort from Tim Duncan (20 pts, 10 rebs, 8 asts and 2 blks.) to narrowly escape a very entertaining game against the Lakers. Kobe Bryant did his best to crush the will of the Spurs hitting a 3 pointer with 14 seconds left to put L.A. up by 2 but this is a different Spurs team. No longer are players like Bowen and Finley asked to make plays they have no chance of making and no longer will Parker or Ginobilli have to force the issue to no avail. more...

RoundTable
1/15/2009
Last night Rip Hamilton returned to action after missing eight games with a groin injury, Rodney Stuckey is playing the best basketball he has ever played but after a loss to the Bobcats last night, a game the Pistons should have won it is obvious that a starting lineup featuring both Richard Hamilton and Allen Iverson along with Stuckey, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace, is not going to work. I hate to be Coach Michael Curry and have to make such a decision of who who should come off the bench, I asked myself this question along with my colleagues Zoo and the Godfather: more...

TheHoopsForum Power Rankings
By Ron Campbell 1/12/2009
The Celtics 19 game winning streak seems to have taken a lot out of the champions as they have since lost seven of nine games, the Celtics bench has been exposed during this stretch, General Manager Danny Ainge may have underestimated how much James Posey meant to this club. The rumors that the Celtics are going to sign Stephon Marbury have made me sick to my stomach but the Celtics need to add some depth to their bench if they want to make another Championship run. I must admit putting the Pistons at 6 was a bit premature as they went 1-3 on their West coast road trip. Charles Barkley has taken a leave of absense from TNT after he was arrested on suspicion of DUI, why take the leave of absense?? It is obvious Charles has his demons like we all do, why hurt the fans, the NBA on TNT won't be the same without Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles on Thursday's. more...

Week In Review
By Godfather 1/9/2009
So much has changed in basketballl over the last week. The Celtics are no longer invincible, the Hornets are surging, Kevin McHale is making a run at coach of the year, and Stephen Curry showed scouts he can do more then just shoot. Let’s get right in it.

Celtics are currently on a three game losing streak, and the championship swagger they once had is all but gone. One thing I have noticed in recent weeks is that the Celtics are getting involved in more scuffles on the court. The majority of these scuffles are a result of excessive trash talking by more...

TheHoopsForum Power Rankings
By Ron Campbell 1/5/2009
With my beloved New England Patriots being eliminated from post season play last Sunday my football season ended, there is no chance that I will watch another game this season, I am in full NBA mode. Sunday was upset day in the NBA as Toronto defeated the Orlando Magic 102 to 108, the Wizards came out on top against their bitter rivals the Cavs 77 to 80, Knicks got past the Celtics 88 to 100, Mavs get blown out by the Grizzlies 82 to 102, the Detroit Pistons broke their six game Sunday losing streak with a win at the Clippers 88 to 87, the Pistons are the NBA's hottest team winning seven games in a row, six of the wins came against sub .500 teams, the Pistons can make a statement this week if they can continue to win with games at Portland, Denver and Utah. Last week I wrote a blog about how the Timberwolves were a bunch of tweeners all playing out of position and not being properly utilizied, well they responded by winning three out of four games, which proves I have no idea what I am talking about. more...

Talking Timberwolves
By Ron Campbell 12/31/2008
I have a conscience and lately my conscience has been bothering me, I guess I feel a bit guilty about my constant dissing of Kevin McHale for trading Brandon Roy for Randy Foye and then trading OJ Mayo for Kevin Love on draft night granted the Wolves also received Mike Miller in the deal, I just feel, well I know, OJ will be the better player. I am from Boston and Kevin McHale was one of the first NBA stars I grew to love, so in his defense I have decided to watch a Minnesota game from start to finish something even with NBA league pass I have been unable to do. more...

TheHoopsForum Power Rankings
By Ron Campbell 12/29/2008
On Christmas day the NBA gave us fans five very entertaining games, some would say the Magic blowout of the Hornets was not entertaining but it gave me a lot of perspective on where the two teams are at. The Magic are a very good team and if they remain healthy, they should provide a very intense second round matchup with either Boston or Cleveland which they will lose because their bench is terrible and ranks 29th in the NBA in scoring, the Clippers are 30th. Jameer Nelson is playing the best basketball I have ever seen him play and I am going back to his days at Saint Joe's. more...

Christmas Hoops
By Zoo 12/26/2008
Orlando 88 New Orleans 68.

The Orlando Magic completely destroyed the New Orleans Hornets in every aspect of the game. They had more points, rebounds, steals, assists, blocks, 3's and free throws. It was a balanced Magic offense that did in the punch less Hornets. more...

Tis The Season
By Zoo 12/24/2008
Portland is in 1st place. The Celtics are in 1st place ... Stuckey scores 40 when G@y I goes down ... Pau has been the MOST consistent Laker. Wade leads the NBA in scoring. Durant averages 23.5 ppg. Ray Allen is the Celtics LEADING scorer 18.7 ppg. K.G. is the Celtics LEADING rebounder and Rondo LEADS the team in assists. Those are the teams 3 best players. 50 point games ( Parker, Roy and Crawford) 2 role players and a Superstar ... then again Tony Delk scored 50 in a game too. more...

TheHoopsForum Power Rankings
By Ron Campbell 12/22/2008
The 1981-82 Boston Celtics and 08-09 Celtics have two things in common, both teams won 18 consecutive games and both teams featured promising players in their third season. 08-09 Team has Rajon Rondo the 81-82 team had a guy named Larry Bird. Kevin Mchale blames bloggers for premature firing of NBA coaches, really……………really McHale it’s the bloggers fault???????? In my opinion PJ Carlesimo should not have been fired, the Thunder traded away Ray Allen and let Rashard Lewis go in free agency because they wanted to focus on Durant, surprise surprise Durant alone can't get them wins. Reggie Theus, I don't more...

Week In Review
By Godfather 12/19/2008
The Media is at it again, Bill Walton in particular is making a case for Rajon Rondo to be an All-Star this season. I like Rondo but he has some pretty stiff competition. Dwayne Wade and Allen Iverson are going to be your starters and that leaves three reserve guard slots to fill. Devin Harris should actually be starting and Joe Johnson is lock. Leaving one other guard spot. Rondo is playing well, but is he playing better then Vince Carter, Ray Allen, Mo Williams and Mike Bibby? more...

Last Night Roy was EN FUEGO ...
By Zoo 12/19/2008
Brandon Roy scored a career high 52 points and the young Blazers won an important barometer game against a battle tested veteran Phoenix Sun team. Brandon Roy balled completely out of his mind pumping in 31 of his points in the 2nd half juking Jason, gashing Grant and stuntin on Steve. The silent assassin scored from everywhere on the court hitting 14 of 27 field goals and a sizzling 19 of 21 from the line more...

Boston Celtics vs. Atlanta Hawks Preview
By Ron Campbell 12/17/2008
Today the Boston Celtics will meet the Atlanta Hawks, a team that nearly upset them in the first round of the last year’s playoffs. The Celtics are currently on a 15 game winning streak but have lost their last 3 games they played in Atlanta's Phillips Arena. If Atlanta wants to win this game they are going to have to focus on these key aspects of the game.more...

What I Saw Last Night ...
By Zoo 12/16/2008
I saw a team that may not lose another game. I saw a young point guard do things against an Olympic point guard (albeit hobbled Olympic point guard) that only elite point guards do. I saw Shaq continued to dip into the fountain of youth. I saw a "cancer" free team continue to win and I saw McHale's Wolves continue to lose and a Magic win without Superman.more...

TheHoopsForum Power Rankings
By Ron Campbell 12/15/2008
The Boston Celtics have tied an NBA record with their 22 and 2 start but Rajon Rondo on the all star team, I don't know about that one. The Cavs dominating 11 game winning streak came to an end on Saturday night with a loss in Atlanta. San Antonio breaks the top five for the first time this season after winning six in a row. Portland free falled this week dropping 9 spots, I must admit, that I too was very high on the young Blazers. The Nets had a very disappointing week, losing three in a row. The Clippers won to very big games against the Blazers and the Rockets and I think these guys have the roster to turn their season around. Look for the Clippers to build off the momentum of winning two in a row this week. The Grizz are on a surprising 4 game win streak and my favorite terrible team is not so terrible, here are the rankings : more...

Week In Review
By Godfather 12/12/2008
Steve Kerr continued to overhaul the Phoenix Suns roster by trading away Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and little used Sean Singletary to the Charlotte Bobcats for Jason Richardson, Jared Dudley and a 2010 2nd round draft pick. more...

Halfway to the All Star Game
By Zoo 12/10/2008
Halfway to the Halfway point in the NBA season and there are a few things I have noticed ...

1. The Celtics and The Lakers are a combined 37-5. The only team to beat them BOTH is none other than the Indiana Pacers.

2. The best backcourt in the NBA has been the combo of Devin Harris and Vince Carter for the New Jersey Nets. Harris is averaging 24 and 6 assists while Vince is steady as a rock with averages of 22 points, 5 asts and 4 rebs.more...

R.I.Pistons
By Zoo 12/9/2008
The Detroit Pistons traded away a former NBA Finals MVP in Chauncey Billups for a player who is labeled by some as the best scorer of this NBA generation. On the date of the trade the Pistons run of 6 consecutive trips to at least the Eastern Conference Finals was put to rest.more...

TheHoopsForum Power Rankings
By Ron Campbell 12/8/2008
The Celtics remain at the top of this ranking after an overtime victory over the Indiana Pacers. The Celtics have an unbelievable swagger to start the season. One team without any swagger are the Minnesota Timberwolves the Wolves who recently got blown out at home against the LA Clippers, Marc Stein of ESPN is reporting that the Wolves are close to firing head coach Randy Wittman. The Detroit Pistons lost their fifth consecutive Sunday game, I am no doctor but the Pistons may suffer from Saturday Night Fever, a curfew may help.more...

Sam Mitchell Fired
By Ron Campbell 12/4/2008
Sam Mitchells lost his job yesterday as head coach of the Toronto Raptors. The Raps were a gutless group that couldn't compete against good teams and they should have been better than that.more...

Having Fun
By Godfather 12/3/2008
There is nothing like having a good time. Your spirits are up, your feeling good and nothing can get under your skin. Playing basketball is a great way to have fun, unfortunately there are several players in the NBA who are just having fun whenever they suit up. Guys like Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Paul Pierce and Lebron James are out for blood whenever they step on to the court. They not only want to beat you, they want to demoralize you. These guys get off on making you feel miserable. more...

TheHoopsForum Power Rankings
By Ron Campbell 12/1/2008
1. Boston (16-2)
Celtics winners of 8 in a row are the NBA's hottest team, this week they will have a chance to play the Pacers twice and exact revenge for the loss the Pacers handed them in week one of the NBA season.

2. Lakers (14-1)
The Lakers are number 2 because their win streak isn't as long as the Celtics, Lakers are a major problem, they lead the league is scoring at 107 and also in point differential at plus 13.7.  more...

The Good The Bad The Oden
By Godfather 11/25/2008
I’m very indifferent on Portland Trailblazer center Greg Oden. I do not agree with the way Nate McMillin is bringing him along but at the same time his shortcomings are hard to ignore.

The Good

Let us start with the good. Unlike most big men, Greg Oden has soft touch at the foul line. He is currently shooting .625 from the line, but his release and mechanics indicate more...

What I Saw Last Night
By Zoo 11/25/2008
DJ Augustin is a PROBLEM ... he had OLD A$$ Dre Miller lookin real bad last night. Then again when I was givin dudes DJ and Rose dude had their thumbs up their butts ...

Stephan Curry had 39 points last night and through 5 games is averaging 35 POINTS and 8 assists ... he and B. Griffin who is averaging 26 and 19.8 through 4 games are trying to do something really crazy in terms of numbers more...

What I Saw This Weekend
By Zoo 11/24/2008
The Knicks officially made their move to not only to snag the Don James in the summer of 2010 but add one of his Hall of Fame caliber draft classmates Flash Wade or CB4 as well. Gone from the Knicks are Crawford, Zack and Collins which represent almost 30 million more...

Last Night ... I think I saw a future LEGEND
By Zoo 11/20/2008
Greg Oden scored 11 points and added 10 rebounds and 3 blocks in less than 20 minutes of game time action. Chicago was never in the game so the impact Oden had on an already decided game when he entered will not be implied. But what I did see from the #1 pick in the 2007 NBA draft was a potential to be LEGENDARY. more...

Courtside View
By M. Reid 11/20/2008


Sun Setting in Phoenix
By Godfather 11/18/2008
After watching the Phoenix Suns lose another game, this time to the Utah Jazz, it is painfully clear that this team is no longer a threat to win a championship. I’m not even sure if they can even hold on to a playoff spot. more...

TheHoopsForum Power Rankings
By Zoo 11/17/2008
1. Boston (9-2)
Although the Nuggets took the wind out of their sails the C's are still the Champs and the team to beat as evident by their overtime victory the very next night against the pesky Bucks.

2. Lakers (7-1)
The Pistons dominated L.A. from start to finish. But the Lakers are still the only 1 loss team in the league.

3. Cleveland (8-2)
With seven wins in a row Lebron and his boys are looking scary good. more...

TheHoopsForum Power Rankings
By Ron Campbell 11/10/2008
1(1). Lakers (5-0)
The Lakers beat the Rockets like they stole something and they did it in impressive fashion beating the Rockets by 29 points which was 7 points higher than their current season point differential of 22 points.

2(8). Boston (6-1)
How good are the Celtics? They are so good they only needed 32 points from the big three to get past Detroit. After being surprised by the Pacers the Celtics have won 4 games in a row including a victory in Houston.

3(6). Atlanta (5-0)
It is safe to say that the Hawks are the early season surpirse, they have won 5 games in a row, 4 against teams that made the playoffs last year.more...

Week in Review
By Godfather 11/07/2008
What a week in the NBA, a regular season MVP was traded for a Finals MVP, Tony Parker and Amare going for 55 and 49 points respectively, Barack Obama was elected President of the United States and we had Larry Brown returned to Madison Square garden. more...

What I saw last night ....
By Zoo 11/06/2008
Eva's Man
What do Air Jordan, the Big O and Eva's husband have in common? They are the only players in NBA history to score at least 55 points AND hand out 10 assists in the same game. Tony Parker led the Spurs to a 129-125 double overtime victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves with 55 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds. Both the Spurs and the Wolves now sit at 1-3. The great Tim Duncan "chipped" in with 30 points and 16 rebounds. For the season Tony Parker is averaging 33.3 ppg and 7.3 apg. Parker is a career 16 ppg scorer so DOUBLING his career scoring average for an entire season is a little far fetched, but right now he is balling out of control and carrying the Spurs offense. more...

A.I. Makes Pistons a Contender
By Godfather 11/03/2008
I’m from Boston, and it is practically illegal to root for another team rather then the home town team. So abiding by the law, I was rooting for the Boston Celtics to win it all last year. The only team that worried me heading into last year’s playoffs, was the Cleveland Cavaliers. They are in underrated defensive team, and I remembered how LeBron single-handedly eliminated the Pistons the year before. Once we got thru that series more...

Both Sides of the Blockbuster
By Zoo 11/03/2008
Denver gets SOMETHING for Iverson as opposed to having him walk away for nothing at seasons end. Denver gets two players who used to play for the franchise and are familiar with the city, fans and altitude. Billups unlike Iverson is MORE of a traditional point guard who does not require an inordinate amount of shots to be effective. more...

TheHoopsForum Power Rankings
By Gentleman 11/03/2008
1. Lakers (3-0)
When Saturday’s game against the Nuggets got close Kobe took over scoring 14 points in the 4th quarter. Huge game next Sunday for Lakers as they host the Houston Rockets.

2. New Orleans (3-0)
James Posey is off to a terrific start in New Orleans averaging 13 points and 3 three pointers a game.

3. Houston (3-0)
Houston easily could have been number 1 this week rankings but strength of schedule means a lot to me and two of the Rockets victories have came against Memphis and Oklahoma. This week will be a good test for the Rockets as they face the Celtics, Blazers and Lakers. more...

Round Table
Godfather: Yeah I told ya’ll about the Knicks, Travis Outlaw, Tony Allen and Wilson Chandler.

Zoo: You sure did ... The Knicks beat a team that started 2 rookies, Outlaw is a wack up, I mean back up, Allen is another "reserve" you called and Wilson Chandler has played like 2 good games in his career ... Nice job u sure know a lot about ball ...more...

Gentleman: The downer prediction, it was the first game of the season against the Lakers relax, Brandon Roy will be fine, I think Oden will be fine as well, more...

NBA Predictions
By Gentleman 10/27/2008
We are just hours away for the 2008-09 season tips off, so I took a moment to put together my predictions for the upcoming season. I won’t go thru all my selections just a chosen few and also some disclaimers.

Lebron James has stated that “anything less than a championship will be a disappointment” expect Lebron to put up even better numbers then he did last year. Kevin Garnett will repeat as defensive player of the year as he continues to anchor the league’s best defensive team the Boston Celtics. more...

Season Preview
By Zoo 10/28/2008
The 2008-09 NBA season is upon us, and for fans of David Stern’s league it could not come soon enough. Elton Brand is in the East again, Baron is still out West although he is a Clipper now and the World Champs are from the city with the most NBA titles in the games history. This year promises to be exciting with no clear cut favorite to win it all. Vegas odds would suggest the Lakers are the boys to beat and rightfully so but they are not the 96 Bulls. Scott Skiles is coaching again this time in Milwaukee, and Terry Porter got a gig in Phoenix. The most recent Sun coach now has the dubious job of following after Isiah "No Doze" Thomas as Knicks head honcho. Last season’s #1 overall pick Greg Oden will be making his much anticipated NBA debut and the # 1 pick in this seasons draft Derrick Rose will attempt to guide the Bulls back to the off's after a 1 year hiatus. more...

New Look Knicks
By Godfather 10/24/2008
Mike D’Antoni wasted no time putting his stamp on the team. The biggest areas of concern for the Knicks last year were the point guard and center positions. I was always an Isiah Thomas fan because I thought he could get the best out of his players, coached the game the right way and was very loyal to his players. It was his loyalty at the end of the day was his demise. Let’s begin with the way he handled the center position. For some reason, Isiah felt inclined to start underachieving Eddie Curry at center. Curry did take a step forward during the 2006- 07 when averaged 19.5 ppg and 7.0 rebounds, but a blind man could see what Isiah couldn’t. Curry wasn’t looking to earn his spot in the 2007-08 season; he felt he was entitled to it. The effort wasn’t there on a nightly basis but Isiah never benched him. As a former coach, I know first hand that is the first step in getting the team to tune you out. more...

Similiar Politics
By Gentleman 10/24/2008
The Political game and the NBA game are very similar. Just like the NBA regular season the teams or the candidates try to position themselves to be the number one seed in their conference before heading into the playoffs or the primaries in the Politics game.

Eight teams make the playoffs from each conference in the NBA and the republicans and democrats each usually have about 8 to 10 candidates from each side hoping to win their parties nomination or the conference title. Just like in the NBA, conference finals are when things really heat up because that’s when you get down to the Final Four candidates. On the Democrats side it came down to Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama, for the republicans it was John McCain and Mike Huckabee. Clinton vs. Obama was a tough battle; it was like a seven game series but in game seven Obama blew Hillary out. Many people wondered whether Hilary would congratulate and support Obama after the grueling battle. This kind of brought me back to when the Bulls beat the Pistons to advance to their first NBA finals. more...

A Point to Prove
By Zoo 10/21/2008
The point guard position is arguably the most important position to a basketball team’s success. Unless you have a Lebron, Wade or Kobe on your roster it is essential that your point guard give you more than adequate production and can run your offense to the finest detail in all situations of the game. Some point guards are better suited for up tempo play (T.J. Ford, Devin Harris and Monta Ellis) and other are the slow it down half court set types (Andre Miller, Derick Fisher and Mike Bibby). Two of the last 4 Finals MVP's (Chauncey Billups and Tony Parker) have been point guards. A two time league MVP in Phoenix was said to be the best at the position up until this past NBA season where we saw a changing of the guard.

Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets is not only considered the BEST point guard in the NBA but if you go by last seasons ridiculous numbers (21 ppg, 11 apg and 2 spg) he may be the BEST to ever play the position by the time he hangs it up.more...