Free Ballin’

If Amar’e Stoudemire goes to Cleveland, it would seemingly increase the chances that LeBron will stay in Cleveland.  And who wants that?  I mean, I know a guy from Columbus Ohio, but other than him, who wants that?  If Amar’e sticks in Phoenix, he’ll be pissed, LeBron will be pissed, Wade will be pissed, and [...]

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Henry Abbott’s assessment of David Stern’s comments is clear and thoughtful.  Abbott and I also have the same problem with David Stern’s statements: Stern says the league is great shape in all respects and yet somehow the teams will lose around $400 million this year.  One comment Abbott made caught my attention:
“What’s a fair amount [...]

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Stern spent the first few minutes of the press conference talking about how well the league had been doing – which he always does – especially internationally – which he always always always does.  The whole world is embracing the NBA, yadda yadda.  He even said that the Association’s revenue hadn’t been hit as hard [...]

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Most Rockets fans I chat with these days take it as a given that the Rockets will make every effort to re-sign Luis Scola this summer.  Now, as much as I like Scola, I don’t see why the Rockets would commit significant money or years to Scola when Carl Landry is going into the last [...]

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I’m not quite sure what to make of the Mavericks.  Their top five players have a lot of talent, but only Dirk is presently in top form.  He’s a machine and doesn’t seem to have aged a bit since their Finals run in ‘06.  But Kidd, Marion, Terry, and Howard have all had better days.  [...]

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It’s never been adequately explained why the Memphis Grizzlies are still called the Grizzlies, when they clearly should be the Memphis Blues.  That name was available for years and now it might be too late.  The Memphis Blues of the World Basketball Association Exposure League emerged in 2008.  But who knows?  In this economy, what [...]

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I wrote about Michael Beasley the other day when Miami played the Trailblazers, and might almost submit that post alone to summarize the Miami Heat.  But they have more going for them than just Beasley’s assent.  They’ve only got $24 million in salary committed next season plus a raise in Wade’s new contract assuming he [...]

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My friend Mark read my Oden post the other day and opined that Oden has a higher upside than Howard, but that it’s not likely Oden will ever even match Howard, much less surpass him.  That sounds about right to me.
Oden blocks way more shots than Dwight Howard, but fouls way more often.  And the [...]

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It doesn’t have to be a great game to get my attention.  The other night’s Trailblazers/Heat matchup was competitive, but nothing special.  Watching Greg Oden and Michael Beasley go at each other, on the other hand, was sensational.
Amid a bevy if impressive sequences, the most significant play of the game to me (in a big [...]

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I’d be thrilled if Allen Iverson signs with the 76ers because I’m a basketball fan, and because I’m not a 76ers fan.
AI is one of my favorite players ever and I love watching the guy on the court—as long as he doesn’t play for my team.  It’s nothing against AI and it doesn’t have anything [...]

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