The biggest news was in fact that there WAS NO NEWS.  Of all the big names mentioned, Josh Smith, Jazz big men Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson, Monta Ellis, Eric Gordon, Kevin Garnett and Eric Bledsoe, all ended up staying put with their current teams.  The Nets pretty much offered Kris Humphries and MarShon Brooks to every team on the planet, save maybe Greek Olympiacos and the Prospect Park Pee-Wee Tigers, and I heard the latter even balked at negotiations unless they would throw in a case of Capri Suns and a bag of orange slices.

The trade that landed J.J. Redick in Milwaukee was the one big name to switch cities, but many other “smaller” trades occurred which may have an impact on the fantasy basketball landscape.  Here is a brief breakdown of what to expect in terms of fantasy value for some of the players that were traded this past Thursday.

Feb 20, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Orlando Magic guard J.J. Redick (7) drives against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

J.J. Redick (Bucks):  This trade definitely helps the Bucks in “real life”, but does a great injustice for his fantasy owners.  In Orlando he came off the bench, the same role Bucks coach Jim Boylan said he’d play in Milwaukee, but the difference here is that he’ll be backing up Monta Ellis (and at some times Brandon Jennings).  With the Magic he was less of a backup and more of a 6^th man, meaning he was the spark off the bench rather than a second unit replacement.  The 31.5 min/g he was seeing this year for the Magic was easily a career high as were his 11.6 field goal attempts.  With Ellis’ 17.3 shots per game and Jennings’ 17 shots per game you’re looking at a lot less possible looks for Redick.  Exchanging blue and black for hunter green and red shouldn’t prevent him from hovering around 2 three-pointers made per game as well as supplying owners with solid free-throw percentages and a very good assist rate (4.4/g) for a shooting guard, but if there’s any chance of selling high you better do it quick.

Thomas Robinson (Rockets) & Patrick Patterson (Kings):  Even though there were six players involved in this trade, Robinson and Patterson are the most high-profile and have the only significant fantasy value so I will focus on them

Sacramento drafted Robinson out of Kansas with the No.5 pick in this year’s NBA Draft, so the mere fact that they traded him without even having a full year to evaluate him either speaks volumes for the turmoil in Sacramento, the knucklehead style of Kings coach Keith Smart or could even point to the fact that they realized they made a mistake with their draft pick and he was not the player they thought he’d be (they have to be a little regretful they passed up on Damian Lillard, who went one spot later to Portland).

From watching him play there is no question he is still very raw, and a No.5 pick seems a bit high, but at this point the kid is still only 21-years old and has room to grow and with Houston he’ll be given that chance.  By trading Patterson and Cole Aldrich to the Kings and shipping Marcus Morris off to Phoenix, the Rockets left Robinson as the only true power forward on their roster.  He’ll have some off nights, but in the run-and-gun offense that they play he’s bound to put up some points as well as rebounds.  Up to this point he has displayed no shot-blocking ability and his free throw shooting has been putrid, but if he’s given a shot at 26-30 minutes a game, he could post 12-14 points and 8-10 rebounds a night on average.  If you can deal with the fact that the Rockets have only one 4-game week remaining on their schedule he should be a decent pickup.  Robinson is owned in 13% of ESPN leagues and 36% of Yahoo! leagues.

Patterson is a guy that you’d think would garner a lot of minutes on a team like the Kings, who are going nowhere, but what Smart does with his lineups on a daily basis is anyone’s guess.  The former Kentucky product has sort of a “Bargnani syndrome”, where at 6’9” he’d rather shoot threes than rebound or play defense.  When given minutes he’s proven that he can score at a pretty consistent rate, but for fantasy owners that’s all you should expect.  He had an insane 6-game clip from Nov. 21 until Dec. 1 where he averaged 19.6 points (1.3 3’s per game) and 5.3 rebounds, but those aren’t numbers you should count on.

More realistically he will put up numbers like the 14 points (0.7 3’s per game) and 5.5 rebounds he achieved on a recent 6-game stretch from Feb. 5 to Feb. 20.  Sacramento is another team that does not have a favorable fantasy schedule the rest of the way (4,4,2,4,3,3,3,2), but if you’re in need of a guy who fills in a forward spot for you there are worse to choose from.  You can’t complain too much about his 51% FG and 75% FT and if you’re lucky Smart will realize that his current starting power forward, Jason Thompson, has reached his ceiling and he’ll give Patterson more minutes, but we’re about as likely to know if that will happen as we are predicting the results of a Maury Povich Show paternity test.  Patterson is currently owned in 14% of ESPN leagues and 22% of Yahoo! leagues.

January 18, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Washington Wizards guard Jordan Crawford (15) during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center. The Wizards won 112-108. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Jordan Crawford (Celtics):  This was actually the move I liked the best out of all the trades that went down.  The Celtics pretty much stole a 24-year old talent from the Wizards and have a year and half to play him at a $1.2 million salary before he becomes a free agent.  Crawford has been highly regarded as a great volume shooter, but his knock has been his lack of defensive prowess as well as his immaturity.  In Boston he’ll be thrust into a backcourt that already features guards Avery Bradley, Jason Terry and Courtney Lee, which may not look appealing for his fantasy value, but my belief is that this is a player Doc Rivers can mold and he should be able to tighten the reins on his childishness antics.

If he can do so, Crawford could become a valuable asset and with that will come minutes.  Gambling on this as well as a possible injury to another backcourt-mate could have your fantasy team flying high for the playoffs.  He’s been a sixth man most of the season, but he’s definitely shown signs of succeeding in a lead role.  From Dec. 11 to Dec. 22 he was put into the Wizards starting lineup and took full advantage, averaging 18.3 points, 6.5 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 2.1 three-pointers in 8 games.  Crawford is owned in 25% of ESPN leagues and 44% of Yahoo! leagues.

Others to keep an eye on:

Beno Udrih (Magic):  With Jameer Nelson seemingly always hurt and E’Twaun Moore not entirely ready to make the jump to a feature role, Udrih could be a nice PG plug-in.  While playing with Sacramento from 2007-10, he averaged 12.6 points, 4.7 assists and 1.1 steals in 32.3 minutes per game.  (1% owned ESPN, 4% Yahoo!)

Marcus Morris (Suns):  Now in Phoenix, Marcus has been reunited with his twin brother Markieff, and I think this should boost his confidence and benefit his game a fair amount.  He has displayed some good shooting skills while with Houston, connecting on 1.4 three-pointers per game thus far this season.  New coach Lindsey Hunter seems inclined to let the younger guys play as Luis Scola, Michael Beasley and Marcin Gortat have fallen out of the rotation.  Morris should steal away a lot of those minutes and if you’re in need of 3’s and some scoring go ahead and grab this guy.  (0% owned ESPN, 3% Yahoo!)

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Of course the opposite is true as well, as some trades just don’t work out.

May 6, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks point guard Baron Davis (85) reacts on the court against the Miami Heat during the first half of game four in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 89-87. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

Every deadline there are a few head scratchers that make you wonder exactly what one of the teams was thinking.

Here’s a look at some deals that backfired in a big way.

5. 2005- New Orleans Hornets trade Baron Davis to Golden State for Speedy Claxton and Dale Davis

Davis had some injury risks at the time, but he was by far the most talented player involved in this deal and the Hornets got nothing for him. Davis went on that season to lead the Warriors to an upset over the Dallas Mavericks in the first-round of the playoffs in what turned out to be one of the more exciting playoff series’ of all time.

4. 2011- Boston Celtics trade Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson to Oklahoma City for Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic and a future first-round pick 

Danny Ainge has been known to roll the dice, but he crapped out on this one. It’s not that Perkins was a great player in Boston, but he was a vital part of a championship team that Ainge dismantled. Looking back, the Celtics are still trying to replace Perkins size and toughness. While Green is a nice player, this didn’t work out well for Boston. Perkins made it to the finals with the Thunder last season, while neither Green nor Krstic were playing in the league.

3. 2011- Charlotte Bobcats trade  Gerald Wallace to Portland for Joel Przybilla, Dante Cunningham, Sean Marks, and two first-round picks

One of Michael Jordan’s plenty of mistakes in Charlotte as the Bobcats got nothing for Wallace, as Przybilla, Cunningham, and Marks is a very weak return for at the time the best player in franchise history. Take this deal one step further and realize that the Blazers were able to turn Wallace into Damian Lillard and you realize how very little MJ got for a player of Wallace’s caliber.

Feb 15, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Team Shaq guard Kyrie Irving (2) of the Cleveland Cavaliers drives against Team Chuck during the first half of the rising stars challenge during the 2013 NBA All-Star weekend at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

2. 2011- Los Angeles Clippers trade Baron Davis and a first round pick to Cleveland for Mo Williams and Jamario Moon

The Clippers are accustomed to making bad moves, but this has to be near the top of the list. They were so anxious to get Davis’ contract off the books that they included what turned out to be the No. 1 overall pick in the deal. That pick turned out to be Kyrie Irving. The sad part is that the amnesty clause was being discussed at that time as possibly being included in the new CBA, which is exactly what the Cavs did with Davis. To their credit, the Clippers did rebound by acquiring Chris Paul, but that didn’t excuse the fact that this was an awful deal,

1. 2003- Milwaukee Bucks trade Ray Allen, Kevin Ollie, Flip Murray and a first-round pick to Seattle for Gary Payton and Desmond Mason

The Bucks dumped perhaps the greatest shooter in NBA history to avoid the luxury tax to acquire an aging Payton and a decent player in Mason. Allen is a future Hall of Famer, while Payton played exactly 28 games in a Bucks uniform before leaving as a free agent that summer.

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Feb 2, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) celebrates a three-point basket in the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

MVP:  Kevin Durant (Thunder)

If I could give out a “co-MVP”, believe you me I’d have LeBron share this with KD, but unfortunately these are MY rules, and Durant gets the nod.  It’s hard to argue that with what he’s done this season so far: 29.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.9 three’s, 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks per game for the team with the second-best record in the NBA.  Those absurd numbers also include a 51.6 FG percentage, a 90.3 FT percentage and a 41.9 three-point percentage.  He is on pace to record only the 11^th 50/40/90 (FG%/3P%/FT %) season with at least 10 points per game…ever.  For you stat geeks out there, Steve Nash (4x), Larry Bird (2x), Reggie Miller, Mark Price, Dirk Nowitzki and believe it or not, Jose Calderon, are the others.  And oh, by the way, Durant is still only 24-years old.  Let that sink in for a minute.  If you were lucky enough to have had one of the top 2 picks in your draft, congratulations are in order.

Honorable Mention:  LeBron James, Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, James Harden

Rookie of the Year:  Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers)

Lillard has been the favorite to win this award from the beginning (please see my article on Oct. 28^th) and he hasn’t disappointed.  Portland’s No. 1 draft pick this season (sixth overall) has helped guide the Blazers to a surprising 25-23 record.  His above average size for the point guard position has allowed him to make the most of certain situations and he has rewarded fantasy owners to the tune of 18.4 points and 6.5 assists as well as 2.3 3-pointers per game and an 84.8 FT%, both uncharacteristically good stats for a rookie.

Honorable Mention:  Anthony Davis, Bradley Beal, Andre Drummond, Alexey Shved

The “Ugghh, I Wish I Had More Patience!” Award:  Co-winners: Nikola Vucevic (Magic) and Ersan Ilyasova (Bucks)

Vucevic was one of my much-talked-about sleepers going into the season (see my Nov. 8^th article).  He started well out of the gates, but a brief lull in his stats and minutes between November 19 and November 28 caused many owners to jump ship.  During this five-game stretch he posted lines of 5.8 points and 7 rebounds in only 22.6 minutes.  His total season averages of 12.1 points, 11.3 rebounds and 32.4 minutes show that that run was simply a fluke.  If you were a patient owner and held onto him, you’ve been rewarded handsomely.  The Swiss-born, USC product is first in the Eastern Conference in double-doubles with 26.

Ilyasova shares this award, but his season trajectory has been a little different.  With an average ADP of 54.3, he was quickly becoming THE bust of the year.  Many fantasy owners took a slight gamble by taking him early, but were hoping that his unique combination of size and good shooting would garner them dominance in multiple stat categories.  He finished last season with a bang.  His April averages of 14.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 0.7 blocks, 1 steal and 1.5 3’s exemplify the well-roundedness that fantasy owners look for.  He signed a $40-million contract in the offseason and expectations were high, but all that soon came to a crashing halt.

Mired in former-Coach Scott Skiles’ daily lineup mercurialness, he was accumulating inconsistent minutes and even a couple DNP-CDs.  He was the most frustrating guy to own because he could go from having 17 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes (12/26) to having 6 points and 4 rebounds in 14 minutes (12/29) and then coming back with 24 points and 3 3-pointers in 27 minutes (12/30).  Every time you wanted to drop him, or did, he’d stab you in the heart by having a great game and if you held onto him he’d have a dud.

Now that Jim Boylan is at the helm we can say that he is a MUST OWN and the owners who stuck with him or those that swooped him up on the waiver wire thinking his fortunes would change, have been rewarded.  In his past 8 games, the 25-year old from Turkey is averaging 20.5 points, 9 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 2.5 3’s, which he’s hitting at a 63% clip.  All this talk about Turkey makes me want to get a sandwich.

Honorable Mention:  Michael Beasley, J.R. Smith, Luis Scola, Kyle Lowry, Tristan Thompson

Feb 5, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward David West (21) posts up against Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith (5) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Fantasy Surprises of the Year…so far (based on Average Draft Position):

David West, Pacers (ADP: 113.7): Having a bounce back year with 17.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks (20 ppg over his last 12, which includes a triple-double)

Shawn Marion, Mavericks (ADP: 117): 11.2 ppg, 8.2 reb, 50 FG%.  He has played in 41 of a possible 48 games at age 34.

J.J. Hickson, Trailblazers (ADP: Undrafted):  12.9 ppg, 10.7 reb, 56 FG% and tied for third in the NBA in double doubles.  It may be time to sell high as a possible trade to a contender could reduce his role.

Kyle Korver, Hawks (ADP: Undrafted):  11.5 ppg, 4.1 reb, 1 steal, 2.9 3PG.  Leads NBA in 3P% at 47.4%.  The Ashton Kutcher look-a-like is doing better than the “Two and a Half Men” star’s ratings these days.

J.J. Redick, Magic (ADP: Undrafted):  15.3 ppg, 2.5 reb, 2.5 3PG, 45.2 FG% (all career-highs).  His 4.5 assists are 8^th in the NBA for shooting guards.  Who says Duke players can’t be good in the pros?

Chandler Parsons, Rockets (ADP: Undrafted):  14.4 ppg, 5.8 reb, 3.6 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.8 3PG, 8 double doubles

Honorable Mention (ADP is in parentheses):  Kemba Walker (92.3), Nikola Pekovic (95.3), Jamal Crawford (112.7), Greivis Vasquez (115.9), Omer Asik (116), Jarrett Jack (undrafted), Matt Barnes (undrafted), Metta World Peace (undrafted), Tiago Splitter (undrafted), Amir Johnson (undrafted),

Fantasy Busts of the Year…so far (based on Average Draft Position)

Mike Conley Jr., Grizzlies (ADP: 40.3):  Career low 42.7 FG% and career high 2.4 turnovers per game.  The fact that he is only 25-years old is not a good thing when your stats regress.  The trade of Rudy Gay should boost his points, though.

Deron Williams, Nets (ADP: 5.3):  16.8 ppg is his worst since his 2^nd year in the league; 7.7 assists and 0.9 steals are both his worst since his rookie season

Marcus Thornton, Kings (ADP: 68.9):  11.3 ppg, 1.1 assists, 1 steal, 40 FG% (averaging 7.7 points in 18.6 minutes over the last 12 games)

Gerald Wallace, Nets (ADP: 80.2):  8.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and a 43.1 FG% are his worst averages since the 2003-04 season with Sacramento.  “Crash” has crash-landed.

Kris Humphries, Nets (ADP: 85.6):  The last two years he averaged 11.9 points, 10.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. He signed a 2-year, $24 million contract and is averaging 6.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 0.6 blocks.  Could it be the curse of Kim Kardashian?

Marcin Gortat, Suns (ADP: 42.5):  His blocks are up, but after last year’s averages of 15.4 points (on 56% shooting) and 10 rebounds in his first full season in Phoenix, this seasons numbers of 11.5 points (on 52.3% shooting) and 8.9 rebounds are a little underwhelming.

Honorable Mention (ADP is in parentheses):  Pau Gasol (18.3), Jeremy Lin (63), Manu Ginobili (66.2), Jason Terry (75.6), JaVale McGee (78), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (91.4), Kawhi Leonard (106), Jeff Green (112.7),

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The Knicks big win, coupled with the Miami Heat’s loss to the Indiana Pacers leave the Knicks just one game behind the defending champs in the Eastern Conference.

February 1, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks guard Raymond Felton (2) lays it in against the Milwaukee Bucks during the fourth quarter of an NBA game at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

With that being said, let’s take a look at how each Knicks’ player graded out in their 96-86 win over the Bucks.

Raymond Felton (14 points, 5-of-8 shooting, 8 assists, 2 rebounds)

The Knicks floor general looked as good as he has since coming back from injury. He knocked down two of his three attempts from behind the arc and his plus-15 mark showed how well he played. He banged up his pinkie finger late in the game which is a concern, but otherwise Felton was in total control all night. His eight assist was the third consecutive game he had dished out at least eight dimes. Grade: A-

Jason Kidd (3 points, 1-of-5 shooting, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal)

Kidd didn’t have his usual impact on the game and was on the bench for most of the Knicks’ comeback. All five off his attempts were from behind the arc and he only knocked down one, but overall Kidd didn’t do much in his 24 minutes. Grade: D+

Iman Shumpert (7 points, 3-of-7 shooting, 4 rebounds, 1 assist)

Shumpert didn’t really have much of an impact in his 19 minutes on the floor, but did knock down a corner three and grab a few rebounds. Grade: C

Carmelo Anthony (25 points, 7-of-22 shooting, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 7 turnovers)

It wasn’t a good shooting night for Anthony but he did what it took to win, including keeping his teammates involved, rebounding and getting to the free-throw line, where ‘Melo knocked down 8-of-12 attempts. He saved his best scoring of the night when the Knicks needed him the most, scoring 10 points in the third quarter. It wasn’t his best night but still a solid performance. The seven turnovers are concerning though. Grade: B

Tyson Chandler (9 points, 4-of-6 shooting, 20 rebounds, 2 blocks)

Chandler absolutely owned the pain Friday night against a big Bucks team. Of his 20 rebounds, eight came at the offensive end giving the Knicks a ton of second possessions. Overall, just another dominant night for the first-time All-Star. Grade: A+

Amar’e Stoudemire (17 points, 5-of-10 shooting, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block)

Another solid game off the bench for Stoudemire, who looks more and more like he is embracing his role. I will take 17 and seven off the bench every night and be happy. Grade: A

J.R. Smith (17 points, 6-of-14 shooting, 5 rebounds, 1 steal)

Smith chucked up 13 shots from behind the arc in 36 minutes. He did make five of them though as the Knicks look like they will live and die with Smith’s streaky shooting. Grade: B

Pablo Prigioni (0 points, 1 assist)

Prigioni didn’t do much in his 11 minutes, but he was able to spell the starting guards and despite not showing up on the stat sheet he didn’t have a bad night. Grade: C

Steve Novak (3 points, 1-of-3 shooting)

Novak did knock down a three in limited minutes, but didn’t have much of an impact. He is a guy who if he is not getting shots, could see his minutes decrease if the Knicks are winning games. Grade: D

January 5, 2013; Orlando FL, USA; New York Knicks point guard Jason Kidd (5) against the Orlando Magic during the second half at Amway Center. New York Knicks defeated the Orlando Magic 114-106. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

“Well [Kidd] will be back tomorrow [against Milwaukee], so we will put him back in the [starting] lineup.” Knicks’ head coach Mike Woodson told ZagsBlog.com’s Matt Falkenbury.

Kidd’s back is still sore but isn’t viewed as being serious even though he only played a combined 20 minutes in games against Philadelphia and Atlanta before sitting out Wednesday against the Magic.

The future Hall of Famer played only five minutes against the Hawks on Sunday, so he has had close to five days off to rest.

How much Kidd pays against the Bucks remains to be seen though?

He is not on a minutes limit, but Woodson did want to start cutting him back to make sure his legs are fresh for the postseason.

In addition, Milwaukee boasts one of the fastest backcourts in the NBA with Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings, so it is unlikely that Kidd will see a lot of time guarding either one defensively.

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Jan 9, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Milwaukee Bucks power forward John Henson (31) talks with coach Jim Boylan during the second half against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center. The Bucks beat the Bulls 104-96. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

“In 2013 I RESOLVE to avoid any players mired in a coach’s rotation carousel”:  Messing with players who play for teams where the coach likes to tinker with lineups and minutes is about as frustrating as it can get for a fantasy owner.  The No. 1 culprit for these scenarios was former Milwaukee Bucks coach Scott Skiles.  For weeks on end we would pull out our hair while struggling to understand why $40 million man Ersan Ilyasova was losing minutes to guys like Marquis Daniels and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (say that five times fast!).

Last week, to the delight of the fantasy world, Skiles was exiled from the Badger State and assistant coach Jim Boylan was handed the reins on an interim basis.  Boylan vowed that he would immediately put Ilyasova into the starting lineup, which he did, but this switch hasn’t necessarily paid dividends for owners yet.  While he IS seeing much more consistent minutes (26, 27, 27, 26) in the four games under Boylan, they are not light years more than the 23.2 he was already averaging for the season.

Skiles always seemed to have a player “in his doghouse”.  This usually meant he’d either get a DNP-CD or very limited and erratic minutes, which would wreak havoc on fantasy owners, especially ones who had to set weekly lineups ahead of time.  Coach Boylan has obviously not gone this route, but the point remains that Milwaukee is a team that is deep in the forward and center positions and the “hot-hand approach” may be used at any given time.  The only players that are safe are Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis, both guards.  Their last game on Sunday against Toronto is a perfect example of Boylan’s distribution of minutes, excluding Jennings and Ellis:

Mike Dunleavy:               30 minutes                L. R. Mbah a Moute:       18 minutes

Larry Sanders:                 28 minutes                Beno Udrih:                       16 minutes

Ersan Ilyasova:               26 minutes                Marquis Daniels:              14 minutes

John Henson:                   22 minutes                Samuel Dalembert:         yet another DNP-CD

Epke Udoh:                       20 minutes

You can see how a rotation like this saps any heavy minute potential from any of these players.  A great example of this is rookie John Henson’s recent production/minutes.  Having not played much of the season, the North Carolina product burst into the scene right after the New Year, tallying either double digit rebounds or double digit points in four consecutive games.  The final game of that run, versus Phoenix, was Boylan’s first game as the head coach.  He logged only 5 first half minutes and only ended up playing 19 total, but still managed a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.  This kind of production in limited minutes would almost ALWAYS guarantee a boost in playing time, but he actually received one minute LESS the next time out vs. Chicago, which produced a rather tepid five point, six rebound line.

Unfortunately for fantasy owners the Bucks are 3-1 under their new coach, and as long as they are winning games this nightmare should continue for the unforeseen future.  My adage towards certain coaches’ rotational fickleness also deserves monitoring in regards to any fantasy players in the Keith Smart Sacramento debacle as well as the new developments in the Hawks’ backcourt and the inconsistent minutes Tom Thibodeau is handing out to his guards.  So whatever you have to do, avoid these kinds of situations like the plague, unless you plan on making the same New Year’s Resolution in 2014!

Jan 12, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards point guard John Wall (2) reacts during the game against the Atlanta Hawks during the first half at the Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA Today Sports

“In 2013 I RESOLVE to keep in mind that this is Fantasy, not ‘real life’”:  The All-Star break is right around the corner, marking the unofficial midway point of the NBA season, and just because a team is up by 10 games in their division it doesn’t mean that all their players are worth owning in fantasy.   Around this time teams are getting a better idea of whether they will be playoff contenders or pretenders.  Teams like the Bobcats, Wizards, Cavs, Hornets, Suns and Kings, among others, have all but punched their ticket to this summer’s Draft Lottery.  While these teams may want to just give up now, they are in fact required to play all 82 games of their schedule, which means lots of garbage time for the stars on these teams as well as opportunities to showcase trade bait and give their young talent some extra run.

On the other side of the spectrum are players on teams that ARE going to the playoffs, but will most likely have reduced minutes in the stretch run in order to save their strength for when it matters.  Swapping players like this could help you win your league.  The top players I’d try to acquire from the aforementioned “lottery” teams would be the Cavs’ Kyrie Irving, the Bobcats’ Kemba Walker and the Wizards’ John Wall.  The key with making trades or picking up free agents that are on these teams is making sure that they are in fact staying put and won’t be traded to a contender, which would most likely result in lost minutes and production.  Those three players aren’t going anywhere and are still very young, meaning that the heavy minutes they are logging will not budge and may actually increase.

Wall’s situation is a little harder to gauge because he just made his season debut, but once his minutes limit is lifted he should be back to his normal career average of 37 minutes per game.  Since these guys are on bad teams and have relatively no national media exposure they may be easier to land in a trade than a higher profile player on a top-tier team.  If you have faith in Wall’s knee holding up he may be the guy to snag immediately before he goes on a tear and an owner will have a larger asking price.

Now as far as the players you might want to dangle, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Garnett, Steve Nash, Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki are guys that come to mind.  They are still big names and may intrigue a rookie owner enough to part ways with a younger guy.

On the opposite side of the spectrum are guys that you will most likely find on the waiver wire that could either see a huge bump in minutes if a team that is out of contention trades one of their stars or if they themselves are traded to a contender and will assume a lesser role in that particular offense.  Some players will also be impacted when injured players come back to action.

Here is my list of such player that you may find on the waiver wire, and as always all players are owned in less than 60% of ESPN and Yahoo! leagues, respectively:

Dec. 23, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Eric Bledsoe (12) handles the ball during the game against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center. The Clippers defeated the Suns 103-77. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports

Players with speculative minutes increase:

Ed Davis-PF/C, Raptors: An imminent Bargnani trade will make his already expanded role much larger (21% ESPN, 30% Yahoo!)

Amir Johnson-PF/C, Raptors: see Davis, Ed. (22% ESPN, 32% Yahoo!)

Jae Crowder-F, Mavericks: Trading Marion, Vinsanity not out of the question (0.4% ESPN, 1% Yahoo!)

Markieff Morris-F, Suns: Dudley and Beasley could be on their way out (0.6% ESPN, 4% Yahoo!)

Gerald Henderson-SG/SF, Bobcats: Ben Gordon’s almost a lock to be traded (32% ESPN, 33% Yahoo!)

Eric Bledsoe-PG, Clippers: Though LA has vowed not to trade him, if he is sent to a bottom feeder his Per 36 Minute stats of 16.8 points, 5.2 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 2.9 steals will make him a must own player(4% ESPN, 13% Yahoo!)

Thomas Robinson-PF, Kings: Everything in Sac-Town is tumultuous right now, but a DeMarcus Cousins trade still remains likely. T-Rob, as well as Jason Thompson, would be the main benefactors (6.5% ESPN, 21% Yahoo!)

Players with speculative minutes decrease:

C.J. Miles-SG/SF, Cavs: 30 min/gm over last 16 will decrease a bunch if traded (14% ESPN, 19% Yahoo!)

Anyone on the Spurs not named Duncan, Parker or Ginobili: an already crowded bench will only get more crowded if they make any trades for the playoff run

Ayon, McRoberts, Nicholson-Big men, Magic: Big Baby’s return spells the end of their recently increased minutes (avg 3% ESPN, avg 0.3% Yahoo!)

Harrison Barnes-SF, Warriors: Though he’s been playing well of late, they won’t balk at the opportunity to acquire a veteran inside presence with a chance to make the playoffs (14% ESPN, 46% Yahoo!)

Nate Robinson-PG/SG, Bulls: Return of D-Rose will chop his minutes (9.5% ESPN, 21% Yahoo!)

Emeka Okafor-C, Wizards: A $14 million salary almost guarantees he’ll be traded to a contender where he’ll likely assume a backup role (22% ESPN, 53% Yahoo!)

Sticking with this is going to take a lot of will power and dedication, but now that I have come up with my Fantasy Basketball resolutions, it’s time to hit the gym and buy some yarn!  Wishing everyone a joyous and prosperous 2013!!

Follow me on Twitter: @SethDaSportsMan

Nov 28, 2012; Milwaukee, WI, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) drives for the basket around Milwaukee Bucks forward Ekpe Udoh (13) during the second quarter at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

It had the feeling early that the Bucks could catch the Knicks on an off night.

Going against one of the best pure scoring backcourts in basketball, Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings controlled the tempo early. Jennings has been a Knicks killer in his career, averaging over 20 points per game against New York, his highest against any Eastern Conference opponent. However the Knicks settled in, got into a groove and both ends of the floor, and ran away with the game.

Ellis and Jennings had 15 points each in the first half but only scored a combined five points in the second. Anthony of course deserves all the credit but tonight the role players stepped up.

Without Jason Kidd, out for a second straight game with back spasms, 35 year-old rookie Pablo Prigioni slipped right into Kidd’s role. Prigioni scored an efficient 11 points, going 4-5 form the field, and added seven assists. Steve Novak had another huge game off the bench playing in his hometown and in front of his family with 19 points going 5-for-7 from three, playing a career high 40 minutes.

The Knicks need wins like these to be taken as a serious contender. They have to bulk up their wins and beat up on the teams they are supposed to beat up on. Milwaukee has been playing pretty good basketball, but they aren’t on New York’s level.

Mike Woodson played the hot players tonight and it paid off, but it was pretty interesting to not see Marcus Camby in a game that the Knicks had a double-digit lead in the entire second half.  Woodson will have to make some interesting moves when Iman Shumpert and Amar’e Stoudemire come back. Who will see their minutes cut down? Knicks’ fans don’t have to worry about that right now but I’m sure it’s in the back of everybody’s mind.

Great win for the Knicks on the road.

Today, we’re taking a closer look at how the match-ups shake out between the Knicks and the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Bucks and Knicks battled for positioning near the bottom bracket of the Eastern Conference playoff standings, with the Knicks managing to pull away late. However, this is a new-look Milwaukee team then in years past. No longer is Milwaukee waiting around for a healthy Andrew Bogut, who they turned into Monte Ellis mid-season last year. This will be his first full season in beer and cheese country, and it will be a telling one.

Point Guard: Brandon Jennings (MIL) vs. Raymond Felton/Jason Kidd (NY)

This match-up is pretty cut and dry. There once was a time where I regretted the Knicks drafting Danillo Galinari over Jennings, but now that The Rooster was used as the centerpiece of the Carmelo Anthony trade, it’s hard to feel that bad anymore. Nevertheless, Jennings is not only a superior player than both Felton and Kidd, but he’s a guy that continually burns New York. He’s developing into one of the best young point guards in the league.

Edge: Milwaukee

Shooting Guard: Monte Ellis (MIL) vs. J.R. Smith (NY)

Both of these players have a tendency to get trigger happy, but there isn’t any doubt that Ellis is the more feared offensive threat. He can shoot from beyond the arc and slash to the basket at will. It will be a more interesting match-up once Iman Shumpert is healthy. How Shump plays defensively would be a huge difference maker in Milwaukee/New York showdowns. Again, not to say that J.R. Smith is a slouch on the defensive end. It’s just that Shumpert is in the process of becoming an elite-level defender. For now, however, Ellis is clearly the better option.

Edge: Milwaukee

Small Forward: Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (MIL) vs. Carmelo Anthony (NY)

Head and shoulders above him, it’s Carmelo. That goes without saying. What The Prince does best is play defense and battle underneath. He’s a sneaky good player in the league that casual fans know little about because he’s never going to score in bunches. That’s not how his game is built. There is, however, the chance that Ersan Ilyasova could start at the 3 for Milwaukee, depending on the development of first round pick John Henson. But, with Milwaukee’s eyes set on a playoff berth, they’ll want to go with veteran experience and a known quantity. Either way, New York has the clear edge.

Edge: New York

Power Forward: Ersan Ilyasova (MIL) vs. Amar’e Stoudemire (NY)

Ilyasova was probably the best player you didn’t hear about last year. He got off to a terrible start in January, one of the many players in the league who desperately could’ve benefited from a regular training camp. After the calender flipped to February, however, Ilyasova became a walking double-double who had the ability to grab as many as 25 rebounds in a single game. Knicks fans didn’t see this first hand, however, as Ilyasova struggled in their four match-ups last year (8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds).

Part of the reasons for the struggles last year was because the Knicks had an answer for him wherever he was on the floor. Stoudemire or anyone else the Knicks ran out at the power position didn’t have a problem following him out along the wings because they knew Tyson Chandler was stationed underneath the rim as a last line of defense. Expect the exact same type of game plan against the versatile Turk next year. I’m also still on the bandwagon that a normal schedule plus a deeper bench will only benefit STAT and allow him to return to the level of play which netted him his huge contract in the first place.

Edge: New York

Center: Samuel Dalembert (MIL) vs. Tyson Chandler (NY)

You can count on one hand the number of centers that have a significant advantage over Tyson Chandler. Dalembert is not one of them. Again, Chandler is perfect for this Knicks team because he will never demand the ball on offense, but when he does get it, he finishes at an incredibly high percentage. Dalembert is a serviceable big that can thrive given the right structure. But, matched up against Chandler, he isn’t the same caliber of player.

Edge: New York

Bench: Beno Udrih/Doron Lamb/John Henson/Ekpe Udoh/Drew Gooden vs. Steve Novak/Marcus Camby/Ronnie Brewer/Kurt Thomas

The Bucks bench is a nice mix of veterans and young talent. Lamb and Henson, their draft picks from the most recent class, have the potential to start at some points in their careers, obviously with Henson having a chance to start out of the preseason. Once a lottery pick himself, Udoh started to find his niche towards the end of the year as a change-of-pace forward coming off the bench. As for Gooden, he’s seemingly played for every team but the Knicks in the league, and continues to be a decent fill-in starter who can put up about 10 points and 7 boards each night.

I still think the Knicks depth is one of their great strengths going into the season, and the reason why their bench is going to be much better than in years past. Every player has their role, and the bench will get even more dangerous once Shumpert returns to the rotation. There are very few teams that can match the depth the Knicks have, and that is going to show throughout the season.

Edge: New York

Summary: While I do forecast the Knicks to have a better season than Milwaukee, I do believe these are two playoff teams that will be battling each other all season for positioning. I know its a rather uncommon rivalry, but every Knicks/Bucks game is going to mean a little bit more this season, which should provide plenty of drama and entertainment. These aren’t your parents’ Milwaukee Bucks anymore.

Should Knicks fans be nervous about tonight's Wizards game?

After a much needed day off for the New York Knicks, the team returns to Madison Square Garden to battle with the Washington Wizards with only eight games left in the regular season.

While many fans were on edge with the sloppy but huge win for the team in Milwaukee, this particular match-up should be of concern for Knicks fans. Why?

Because everything about tonight’s match-up screams trap game.  (more…)

Just how important is tonight's game against the Bucks?

After a deflating 98-86 loss in Chicago last night against the Bulls, the Knicks travel to Milwaukee to play the Bucks in a face-off of the two teams fighting for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Entering tonight, the Knicks (29-28) have a slim one game lead over the Bucks (28-29) with each team having only nine games remaining on their regular season schedules. It is also worth noting that the Philadelphia 76ers (30-27) are one clear of the Knicks and two clear of the Bucks.

So, does this mean that tonight’s match-up in Milwaukee is a must-win for the Knicks? Tyson Chandler thinks so. But, is it really? (more…)

Hottest Seats:

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Amar'e Stoudemire's struggled to create good looks for himself, but even though the Knicks lost last night, he took a step forward. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

Last night’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks was over by the end of the first quarter, which left us down by 22 points.  In the end, yes, we lost by 27 points, but really they only added to their lead at the very end when we played the bench dregs for almost the entire fourth quarter.  One might be tempted to say that since we scored only 80 points that our offense was the problem, and yes, it sure was awful, but really it all came down to that lack of defense in the first quarter.

Truth is it wasn’t just that our D wasn’t as crisp as it could’ve been, but also that the Bucks just were on fire.  They scored 41, but then we clamped down, limiting them to 23, 26 and 17 in the final three quarters.  And they only got 26 in the third thanks to an at-the-buzzer-shot, so we practically kept them under 25 points a quarter after that disastrous first one.  Here are a four things that I’m concerned/thinking about:

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Kobe bites his shirt! Does that mean he's worried the Lakers won't be on top this year? Nah, probably he just forgot to eat dinner. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

With the season beginning tonight, it’s time to rank how strong all the teams are at this point.  This isn’t who will be strongest at the end of the season or who will have the best regular season.  This measures how strong each team is right NOW.  If a team engaged in a seven game series today with any of the teams listed below them, I’m saying they’d win.  So yeah, injuries count big time.  And chemistry.  And like, how good they are.  It’s basically a highly complex formula that you mere mortals wouldn’t understand.  Either that or it’s all based on pure opinion.

1. Los Angeles Lakers — Even with the recovering Kobe shooting 28% this pre-season they’d still beat everyone.  Hell, he only shot 24% in Game 7 of Finals.

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Could Phil Jackson, the Zen Master himself, get fired this season? Of course not, you idiot, but where do the rest of the coaches in the league stand? (Source: Yarbarker.com)

I seem to be in a major ranking/grading/evaluating the whole NBA-mode, so today we’re gonna check out which coaches might not make it through the season.  Every year it seems like about six coaches are fired in the middle of the 82 game grind.  And a few more who made it through the grist then are shown the exit during the summer.  But we just finished one summer, so we ain’t talking about the next one yet.  Just this upcoming season.  Who’s Bulletproof?  Who’s on the Hot Seat?  And where does everyone else stand and why?  Well, you’re lucky ‘cuz we’s about’s ta answer these questions fer ya.

Bulletproof (again, for this upcoming season only):

Doc Rivers – Celtics

George Karl – Nuggets:  He might quit if it’s too grueling, but ya can’t fire a guy coming back from cancer.  Ya just can’t.  If you disagree, grow a heart, dude.

Phil Jackson – Lakers

Gregg Popovich – Spurs

Jerry Sloan – Jazz

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With the Cavs having lost the unstoppable Delonte West (plus I think some other guy?), how bad will they be? You might be surprised by our take. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

We already examined how much teams improved/regressed during the off-season, but now we’ll talk about how they stack up against each other.  Meaning, we gave Orlando a zero for their summer and the Wizards a +2, but now we’re here to tell you that yes, of course Orlando is still gonna be far better.  For those who haven’t seen those posts on off-season grades, click the following links to see what we had to say about the Northwest, Atlantic, Central, Southeast, Pacific and Southwest Divisions.  Also, we’re only gonna be talking about the regular season here.  So even though we don’t think the Celts will be a top two team record-wise, it doesn’t mean we think they’re incapable of making it through the gauntlet again.  Lastly, some teams will be put in clusters ‘cuz they’ll likely end up with similar records and what does a victory or two here and there matter?

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1. Rather than a standard A through F grade or going for a scale of 1-10, we shall use a system that my friend Noriko loves: -5 through +5.  It helps differentiate things a bit more, ‘cuz like if a team gets a C-, it’s better than an F, but is it good?  With this scale, you can instead give the team a +1, which shows that they improved the team, but only marginally.  Or maybe they get a zero ‘cuz they didn’t hurt the team or help it.

2. These grades are not, I repeat, NOT, about how good teams will be.  It’s purely about how good their summer moves were.  For instance, the Sacramento Kings may get a higher grade than say the Orlando Magic, but that doesn’t mean I’m insane and think the Kings will be better than the Magic.  It simply means I like the Kings’ draft of DeMarcus Cousins more than the Magic’s signings of Quentin Richardson and Chris Duhon (although I haven’t fully examined those teams yet, so I dunno what grades they’ll get).

3. The grades are not just based on how good the players are, but also their contracts.  Joe Johnson is definitely a top 30 player, but with Atlanta giving him $120 million/6 yrs, the largest contract of anyone this summer, his signing turns into a negative.

4. Grades will be scaled based on what each team could have done.  Meaning the Lakers, a team over the salary cap, get major kudos for snagging Steve Blake, Matt Barnes, Theo Ratliff and bringing back Shannon Brown with their limited financial flexibility, but if say the Knicks, with all their cap space, had only made those moves, I’d pan ‘em.

5. Fit matters.  I like Kirk Hinrich a ton, and had he gone to the Pacers (a team that desperately need a point guard before yesterday’s Collison trade), I would’ve raved about the move.  However, Washington acquiring him is a bit odd considering they already have PGs in John Wall and Gilbert Arenas.

And now…

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New Bulls' coach Tom Thibodeau got his defensive chops from one of the best coaches in the game: Jeff Van Gundy. Unfortunately, it seems he also co-opted Jeff's same clothing/grooming style. (source: Yardbarker.com)

There has been confirmation that both the New Jersey Nets and the Chicago Bulls have hired new coaches.  The Bulls have hired Celtic’s assistant coach Tom Thibodeau, widely acclaimed for his defensive schemes.  Many have argued that his addition was equally as key to turning the Celts into defensive juggernauts in 2008 as getting Kevin Garnett.  The Bulls were great stoppers just a few years ago under former coach Scott Skiles (who this year turned the Milwaukee Bucks from matador defenders into, um, what’s the opposite, brick wall defenders?).  While the Bulls’ whirl-a-gig center, Joakim Noah, has kept the team from slacking too much, the arrival of Thibodeu should catapult the team back to a spot as one of the top defensive squads.

Meanwhile, the Nets, after a 12-win season where the only thing they stopped was your team from playing a quality opponent, is already being brought back to life by their new 6’5″ Russian katrillionaire, Mikhail “Don’t Call Him Mikey P” Prokhorov.  It’s a nice coup for him to snag Avery Johnson, the coach with the highest winning percentage in NBA history.  He turned the Mavericks from the offense-only laughingstock 200s posse which included the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns, into a solid defensive ball club.  And that was with a star player, Dirk Nowitizki, who due to his complete lack of D, almost legally changed his name to “Irk.”

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Evaluating players before the draft is not easy, but at least you know who you are talking about. Predicting who is going to get picked when is harder. Everyone has their own ranking system, but the big question is whether a team is going to pick the best player available or pick the player who best addresses the team’s needs.

The other question is, what on earth was that GM thinking? The most recent “what was he thinking” award goes to the Minnesota Timberwolves, for using the 5th and 6th draft picks on point guards (Jonny Flynn and Ricky Rubio), followed by having one of them (Rubio) make noises that he would never play for the Wolves, and creating a situation where the other, Flynn, felt unsure of the team’s commitment to him, and for good reason.

So for me to say who will make which pick is guesswork, because every year there are inexplicable decisions made, and there are players drafted in the top 20 whose name you hear when he is selected, but then never again. Comparing mock drafts, I have seen players’ names move twenty spots or more.

Mostly, I’m seeing mocks that describe players, not why they will be picked or what the team is thinking. I already wrote about the players likely to be drafted in the first round, so instead, lets’ discuss what the team should do, not what they will do, because many teams have a weird tendency to pick the same type of player over and over regardless of the results. (Lakers trying to find a point guard, Bulls drafting post players, Houston drafting 3’s, Warriors drafting skilled bigs, etc.) Redundancy makes sense for some teams, but for others it’s stupid. I’ll take those case by case.
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The Portland Trailblazers' coach, Nate McMillan. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

On the front page of FanSided I had the following:

First off, congrats to Oklahoma City’s Scott Brooks for winning Coach Of The Year. Without a doubt, the dude deserved it. As everyone likes to point, he took a team that started last year 3-29 and without any real significant personnel additions, turned them into this season’s 50-win team. We all knew they’d be good, particularly since after that 3-29 start they went 20-30, but no one expected them to be this good this soon. The scary thing to imagine is how good they’d be if they’d used their #3 draft pick on Tyreke Evans or Stephen Curry instead of James Harden. I know they wanted Russell Westbrook to remain the man at point guard so they chose the top shooting guard prospect, but c’mon, both ‘Reke and Curry can play the two. At 6′6″, presumed Rookie of the Year ‘Reke is even an inch taller than Harden. I imagine he’d get more than the 13 minutes/game that Harden’s averaged during the first two playoff battles. But I came here not to talk Thunder, but Trailblazer.

The man who came in second place for Coach Of The Year was the Bucks’ Scott Skiles, another well-deserving candidate. In the off-season Milwaukee lost Richard Jefferson, Charlie Villanueva and Ramon Sessions, then only got 18 games out of leading scorer Michael Redd (and in many of those games even Redd’s minutes/abilities were limited due to injuries). Yet Skiles got his team to buy in on defense (which has always been his calling card), and with the late-season trade for John Salmons, brought them to an impressive 46 wins (& they might’ve had even more if not for Andrew Bogut’s season-ending injury at the beginning of this month). Um, however, this isn’t about him either.

Click here to read the rest.

Would YOU want to live in Cleveland? (Source: Yardbarker.com)

1. Okay, everyone knows about this quote ‘cuz the Chicago Bulls’ Joakim Noah has been relentless in his digs at Cleveland. When given a chance to recant after Game #2, he offered this nugget (amongst others):

“I never heard anybody say I’m going to Cleveland on vacation.”

For the other two quotes, check out the end of the article here.

You may not be able to tell from the looks on the Raptors' bench, but Toronto won the game. (source: Yardbarker.com)

Toronto annihilated the Knicks last night 131-113 (if we were playing Mastermind we’d say at least the Knicks’ score got all the same correct #s as Toronto, but just in the wrong order).  In the first half, the Raptors shot 70%.  No, not from the free-throw line, but from the field where you’re supposedly allowed to play defense.  The Canadian fans were excited, so why the depressed looks on the bench?  While Toronto needed this final win to get into the playoffs as the eighth seed, they also needed something else: the Chicago Bulls to lose their simultaneous game against the Charlotte Bobcats.  The Bulls didn’t play their part, instead winning and thus hanging onto their last-minute theft of that final playoff spot.

More depressing to the people of Toronto is that perhaps this helped further the death knell of Raptors’ all-time-scoring-and-rebounding-leader Chris Bosh’s stay north of the border.  The man is on record as having said he wants to be surrounded by enough talent to make his team a contender.  It’s pretty clear that Toronto ain’t nowhere near that.

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Joe Johnson – Atlanta Hawks

As we discussed after the recent Knicks/Hawks game, JJ has a nice relationship with Coach Mike D’Antoni from their time together in Phoenix, plus the Knicks have somehow managed to look competitive this year in the three games he played against us.  When JJ was on those D’Antoni Suns teams, although he was huge for them, at the time he was considered to be at best their fourth most important player (after Steve Nash, Amar’e Stoudamire & Shawn Marion).  Joe rightly felt he could be more, a centerpiece, and he wanted to be paid accordingly.  Having achieved all that with the Hawks, he now has reached the point most vets get to: the main thing he wants now is the chance to play for a championship.  He is even one of the few stars who has literally put his money where his mouth is and has stated he’d be willing to take a bunch less money to be on such a team.

Now don’t misunderstand: he knows he has a very good thing going with the Hawks and that they are a really, really good team.  He’s not gonna just leave them to play on a mid-level Knick team.  So ignore this quote in the NY Daily News:

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Sadly, Big Al goes in for the layup even if it means shoving others aside. (Source: Yardbarker)

Maybe all the cold weather in New York this year has made the Knicks think it’s still Christmas, ‘cuz they’ve been non-stop giving out the gift of victories to any team that comes near them.  The New Jersey Nets, who had won only 6 our of 61 games, were on a path to be the team with the worst record in NBA history.  The previous record low is only 9 games (out of an 82 game season) held by Washington in like 1982 or something (their leading scorer was Fred Carter).  If the Nets kept at that 6 of 61 pace, they not only would’ve been unable to win more than those 9 games, they wouldn’t have even won 9.  Now though at 7 of 62 after we let them whup us on Saturday, suddenly they’re on pace to out-do those 9 games.  Not a bad gift from their cross-river rivals?  This is one mark in the record book for which ya don’t wanna become famous.

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The Good:

1. New point guard Sergio Rodriguez took over the starting gig from Chris Duhon.  Spanish Chocolate was a never-ending blur and managed an unbelievable EIGHT steals!

2. New undersized shooting guard, Eddie House, played point when Spanish Chocolate went out, which meant: Chris Duhon didn’t play at all!  Not a second!  And that was goooood.

3. The Knicks did a good job hustling and scrambling on defense, holding the Bucks to a mere 43% fg shooting.

4. Tracy McGrady did not just settle for easy jump shots and instead had a few nice drives to the hoop.  Yes, none were dunks and a couple didn’t go in, but it’s excellent that he’s not shying away from contact with the big boys.

TMac, unafraid, drives to the hole, yet the Knicks still seem to be playing in the dark

5. At halftime the fans were thrilled as the Knicks honored the 40th anniversary of the 1969-1970 championship team.

6. To show how truly stupendous that 1970 team was, the current Knicks, in an outstanding show of support, got together before the game and decided to purposely play horribly so the fans would appreciate the old-timers even more. (more…)

Lee is averaging 20 points and 11.4 rebounds and becomes the Knicks’ first All-Star since Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell in 2001. Stern chose Lee over Milwaukee center Andrew Bogut, who is averaging 16.0 points and 10.2 rebounds and has helped lead the Bucks to within a game of a playoff spot in the East.

Many do think that Bogut could be the second best official “center” in the East (I use quotes ‘cuz like Chris Bosh wants to be called a power forward, much like Tim Duncan always has, but he should be considered a center).  However, Bogut started off the season slow and injured and has only come on recently.  Surely, David Lee’s consistent excellence (particularly in the face of such adversity as the Knicks have gone through) makes him a much easier choice.

I’m actually shocked that Atlanta’s Josh Smith wasn’t chosen (or even mentioned in that article).  The growth in Smith’s game (along with the addition of former Knick Jamal Crawford) has been widely heralded as the reason why the Hawks have made the jump from slightly above average to potential contender.  My guess is that since there are already two Hawks on the All-Star Team (which wrongly includes their center Al Horford), that’s part of the reason Smoove got the shaft.  Plus, Stern loves the major market of New York, so the potential of getting all those fans interested seems like a pretty strong pull too.  And again, that major market is another huge plus in Lee’s favor over Milwaukee’s Bogut.  Anyway, one thing’s for certain: initial reports that Stern only chose Lee because they have the same first name have proven to be false.

Congrats, big guy.

Not so fast, Sparky.  One slight difference between the rules for the coaches’ voting and the fans’ voting is big.  The coaches are allowed to vote for a player in a different position than the one they play if they think that person can play that spot.  Meaning, Chris Bosh may like to call himself a power forward, but he (like many others such as Tim Duncan) should really play center.  Thus, Bosh is the guy most likely to get that backup center spot.  Meaning David Lee’s chances boil down to the two Wild Card spots.  But to determine who he’ll be going up against, we kinda gotta figure out who’ll be left after the 2 guard & fwd spots are filled.

Top Eastern forwards: Josh Smith, Paul Pierce, Gerald Wallace.  Even though Luol Deng, Danny Granger, Andre Iguodala & Antawn Jamison have had solid statistical years, they’ve all seemed pretty ineffective in bringing about wins on their teams, and most of ‘em have had better years in the past.  Leaving it down to Smith, Pierce & Wallace.  Honestly, I think they all deserve to go, and rather than pick specifics, we’ll say two get the forward spots and one gets one of the Wild Card spots.  That leaves one possible wild card spot remaining for Lee.

Top Eastern guards vying for the last spots: Joe Johnson, Rajon Rondo, Stephen Jackson, maybe Derrick Rose or Jamal Crawford.  Joe’s a definite.  Derrick Rose’s last few games have been great, and more importantly it seems like he’s hit his groove so we should expect the same going forward.  Unfortunately for him the voters had already sent their votes in and he came out sucking not swinging at the beginning of the season.  Crawford’s been great off the bench, but I think the fact that he’s on the bench will mean he won’t get a spot.  Meaning we’re down to Rondo & Stephen Jackson.  I honestly haven’t actually visually seen (as opposed to emotionally seeing?) either of them that much this season.  Some pundits have said Rondo has to make it.  Others have left him off their list.  In terms of Stephen Jackson, some people feel the Bobcats don’t deserve to have two All-Stars so you need to choose between him and Gerald Wallace.  I’ve got no idea.  One of ‘em will take that second guard spot.  The question is: will the other one take the last remaining Wild Card spot away from David Lee?  Honestly, I don’t know.  Guess I’ll have to wait these next few hours.

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“If a player fouls out in a game, can they keep on playing?”  Had you asked me that question before this past Friday, I’d've called you a moron for asking it.  Duh, if they get 6 fouls and foul out, clearly they can’t stay in the game anymore.  Seems that’s not true.  Apparently there’s a little clause that perhaps has never actually been invoked before.  The Golden State Warriors have had more injuries this year than a Yao Ming family reunion.  As a result, they went into Friday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks with only 8 players (the minimum allowed under NBA rules).  Within a few minutes Anthony “Don’t Call Me Rob” Morrow tweaked his knee, adding him to the infirm group that included Ronny Turiaf, CJ Watson, Kelenna Azabuike, Vladamir Radmanovic, plus some others that I’m blanking on.

Fine, the Warriors still had two subs.  Unfortunately, D-League call-up, Chris Hunter then fouled out in just 11 minutes.  No worries.  The Warriors pull within 3 with less than a minute left.  And Andris Biedrins fouls out.  Okay, less than a minute to go, no subs.  However, to get the clock to stop running, the Warriors purposely foul the Bucks twice.  And both times it’s rookie Stephen Curry who does it.  The last time there’s only four seconds left.  But it’s his sixth foul, which’d leave the Warriors with just four players.  What happens then?  Do you play four on five?  No, apparently the last guy who fouled out (in this case Curry) gets to come back in!  However, the other team gets a technical free throw in addition to the foul shots they were already getting.

Sad Post-Script #1: Due to the NBA’s minimum requirement of 8 players, for Monday’s game against Chicago the Warriors called up some dude named Anthony Tolliver from the D-League for a 10-day contract.  Did he feel alone being the new guy from the minors?  No, the whole 3-person bench was D-League call-ups.  Tolliver even lucked out and got to start the second half.  That’s when his luck dried out.  He injured his knee and had to leave the game.

Sad Post-Script # 2:  Despite playing against a team with a bench of D-Leaguers, Chicago still lost that Monday game.  By nearly 20 points.

Sad Post-Script #3: Which D-Leaguer got the least minutes on the team?  Answer: None.  Pathetic NBA “regular” Devean George, who started the first half, only played 6 minutes.

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According to NewsOK (apparently that’s the name of an Oklahoma newspaper, although isn’t that kinda like naming your paper NewsFineWhatever?):

Hawks forward Joe Smith, who has written 400 to 500 songs, released his first CD, a 19-track debut entitled “The Beginning,” last season when he was with the Thunder. Smith, whose music name is Joe Beast, hopes to release his second rap CD before the NBA All-Star break.

Really?  400 to 500 songs?  And Joe Beast?  I thought the era of bball players trying to become rappers was over.  With him spending that much time writing songs, it’s no wonder that the former #1 pick has never amounted to anything more than a role player.

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U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan (a former baller at Harvard) at a recent NCAA convention pretty much said the NBA’s policy of basically “forcing” kids to go to one year of college before they can enter the pros, well, that it sucks donkey meat.  It’s not that he wants everyone to be able to go to the NBA straight outta high school, it’s that he feels like the one-and-done players aren’t getting the true value of the educational experience.  One possible solution is allowing high school players to make the jump straight to the pros, but if they do decide to go to college they then have to stay for two years.  For more info, check out this New York Times’ article, as well as TrueHoop’s exclusive interview with Arne “Don’t Call Me Tim” Duncan.
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Who’s the best player in the NBA?  Dwight Howard’s answer may surprise you:

I tell my friends all the time if I had to chose between LeBron, Kobe and Carmelo, I’m gonna choose Carmelo.

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Would Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson like to also be a General Manager someday so he can control what players his team has?

“I have no interest in that. I don’t want to have to deal with agents. I don’t want to have to lie.”

Wait a sec, doesn’t the General Manager hire and fire the coach?  In other words, the Lakers’ GM is Phil’s boss.  Forget about the fact that Phil makes $10 mill a year or that he’s won 10 championships, who wouldn’t want his job just so you could publicly call your boss a big ol’ liar?
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Nate Robinson painting.  And yes, I want it if it’s painted on velvet.

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In a recent post, I showed the Pacers & Knicks beating each other up and lamented that those days are gone.  However, it wasn’t all roses and glory for those Pacers.  Sadly, back then people felt they had to keep their homosexuality secret.  It’s time to come out of the closet.  C’mon Mark Jackson, you’re better’n that!

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Yao Ming in an Esquire interview on forcing himself to dunk:

When I was young, [in China] we were taught not to dunk. We were taught not to stand out from the rest of the team. It’s different now. The young guys in China are new age. They want to show their stuff. But I am old-school. It was a big adjustment when I first came here to play at a camp. The coaches told me to dunk, but I would lay the ball in. Finally, the coaches made everyone else on my team run laps when I didn’t dunk. I didn’t want my teammates to be punished because of me. That’s how I learned to dunk.

Pretty smart that in order to get him to “stand out from the rest of the team,” they used his desire to be part of the team.

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Lastly, Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs and his lovely wife, actress Eva Longoria-Parker (of ABC’s “Desperate Housewives”) do an amazing job of recreating “Summer Loving” from that Olivia Newton-John classic, “Grease.”  Between this and Joe Smith’s 500 songs, how much free time do these guys have on their hands?