| 24 January 2011
1) As the clock strikes midnight on trade deadline night, Carmelo Anthony will be a member of the .....? And did the Nets make the right move pulling out of the running for him?
Don: As the clock strikes midnight on trade deadline night, Carmelo Anthony will be a member of the New York Knicks. Melo's brinkmanship on getting a trade done is going to cost the Nuggets... but eventually they'll choose NYK over nothing. And the information currently being spread by Denver that "a lot of teams have expressed interest in Carmelo"? Either complete BS or completely irrelevant. We've seen what Melo's response to teams outside his list of interest (aka "the Knicks") goes.Rob: I can honestly say that I care about this almost as little as I cared for 'The Decision'. There's no 'I' in team, and there's no team in Melo. In a league where self-indulgence, greed and selfishness are the norm, here is a guy who takes those to (almost) LBJ levels. Where will Melo end up? Who gives a f%&*???? But it's the Knicks...
2) Dwyane Wade was quoted recently as saying that the Heat don't have to play together as a team, they have guys who can make individual one-on-one plays to win games. Agree or disagree?
Don: Disagree. Miami are 4-8 in games decided by two possessions or less (6pt margin). Yes, the other side of that is that often they haven't gotten to that situation - but the playoffs are going to be a different story: expect those games with far greater frequency.
They'd better sort out the game-play at the end-game... because this could be a major flaw in their post season plans..
Rob: If you're playing the T-Wolves, the Nets, the (c)Raptors or "insert other crappy team here" then it's fine for Miami to play individual ball. That won;t cut it in the playoffs where you are actually playing good teams. How did the Celtics win #17? they parked egos at the door, Paul Pierce, KG and Ray Allen gave up on worrying about their number of touches and did what the team needed to win. Miami will need to learn the same lesson or their season will be a bust.
3) I wrote an article about this recently but I'd like to hear the rest of your opinions - "Is Tim Duncan All-Star Worthy?"Don: Tim Duncan's not just having a "below average year", he's having the worst year of his career. And simply chalking it up to "fewer minutes played" doesn't cut it either - it's not like he's playing a lot less, he's only a minute-and-a-half below last season's number. The numbers are the lowest of his career, whatever metric you use to track them.
Add to this, he'll be matched up against Dwight?
Once was a time that I'd back the West in that match-up, but not any more. Timmay'd do better than many of the other suggested big men: Nene for example... but I think (and this is going to annoy the hell outta everyone except one fan-base) Andrew Bynum's going to see his first ever All Star game. Not based on his play (hell, the guy's barely played a third of the season) - which has been... "pretty good" - but based on him being the no. 2 in the fan voting for centers. And whilst I don't think Bynum necessarily deserves that berth, I think he'll do the best of all other options.
This is going to kill non-Laker fans too: I see LA having four players in the All Star game (Bryant/Gasol/Bynum/Odom).
Lastly: could people make up their minds? Do they want Timmay to qualify as a center, or a power forward?
Rob: Simply, no. But when it comes to all-star voting when has 'worth' been a factor?
4) Game of the Week - pick the winner - Sun, Jan 30th - Boston @ Lakers - who ya got?
Don: If LA can get up for any game, it'll be this one: Boston on a Sunday. Too much length, and Bryant hounds Rondo. LA win by under 8.
Rob: This one has me excited! Celtics get it done in LA by double digits. Nyah-nyah!!!
