10 Feet High

It's that time of year again. You know, when millions of disgruntled men (and women) across America pull out all the stops for their best sick excuses so they can watch the first two days of the Big Dance? The time when "bracket guy" steps up to the plate for his annual ambition to become the most annoying guy in the office. But it's all a part of the fun right?! With that in mind, let's take a look back memory lane for the best guard combinations of the tourney's last decade.

The NCAA tournament is all about quality guard play. If you don’t have good guards, you can’t win a title, period. Why is this so important? Because particularly late in the tournament, your backcourt, especially your point guard, becomes an extension of the head coach on the floor. If he can run a team efficiently without turning the ball over, you will always have a chance to win. But if your guards struggle with pressure and can’t initiate an offense, you will not make it far. It doesn’t matter how good your bigs are if your guards can’t deliver them the ball. Big men can’t just create off the dribble from 20 feet - they have to have the ball on the block or work out of the high post.

With that in mind, and with the NCAA tournament right around the corner, let’s take a look back at the top guard combinations of the past decade, counting down from No. 10. (Note: This is the first installment of a two-part series. The next edition will have feature the top five.)

Honorable Mention:

2001-2002 Oregon Ducks – Luke Ridnour, Luke Jackson, Fred Jones

This team had a great run making it to the Elite Eight. Ridnour was the ultimate catalyst with an uncanny ability to penetrate and dish, and was a wondrous operator of the pick-and-roll. Jackson was the most versatile, the consummate slasher who could also hit the three, and Jones, a former NBA Slam Dunk champ, was a beast in transition. In hindsight, it’s hard to believe this team didn’t go further, but it ran into a very talented No. 1 seed in Kansas that featured a young Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich.

2005-2006 UCLA Bruins – Aaron Afflalo, Jordan Farmar

I once played against Afflalo and it felt like being contained in a box. He’s an ace defender who could score and was extremely tough. During his UCLA days, Farmar was an adroit passer who really made this team tick at both ends along with Afflalo. A first-rate passer who distributed the ball with ease, he is one of the better college points of the decade.

1998-1999 UCLA Bruins – Earl Watson, Baron Davis, JaRon Rush

I know, I know, it’s not quite this decade, but I’m a Pac 10 (Pac 12?) guy so I couldn’t help myself. On sheer talent alone, this pairing should be near the top. Watson and Davis have both told me on separate occasions that Rush is one of the most naturally gifted athletes they’ve ever seen. For whatever reason though, UCLA couldn’t get out of the second round that year and never advanced past the Sweet 16 with Watson and Davis at the helm. Both however, were splendid playmakers. Davis was the rare blend of size and power at the point guard position who could dunk on you while Watson made his mark as the nifty passer and lockdown defender.



2004-2005 North Carolina Tar Heels – Rashad McCants, Raymond Felton, Jackie Manuel

Felton was electric all season long as the dynamic push-first point guard who ran the ball down your throat at all costs. McCants, with his “Born to be hated, dying to be loved” tattoo and ESPN cover, lived up to the hype as the cold-blooded leading scorer on this national title squad. Manuel wasn’t flashy, but with these two he didn’t have to be – just a great glue guy. I saw him at the National D-League camp last June. He is still as nasty as ever on defense and on the glass.

2001-2002 Texas Longhorns – T.J. Ford, Royal Ivey, Brandon Mouton

Mouton is not someone you’d want to be alone with in a dark alley, and thus complimented Ford and Ivey really well. Ford – while he has struggled with his health and finding his niche in the league – had bundles of success in college with his knee jerk drives into the lane and ability to finish through traffic. Ivey was the do-it-all guard who could defend and knock down big shots.

2003-2004 Washington Huskies – Brandon Roy, Nate Robinson, Will Conroy

Conroy was the ultimate catalyst and remains Washington’s all-time leader in assists. Of course, much of that has to do with the fact that he was tossing it to Robinson and Roy. Robinson, the 5-9 (on a good day) monster, became infamous for his thunderous slams. But he had finesse too, namely a really nice pull-up jumper and consistent three-point stroke. Roy however, was by far UW’s best player. The local product had an exceptional feel for the game – ala Dunleavy – but was also remarkably crafty and deceivably athletic. The best player in Washington history and my former AAU teammate, he was a superb defender and dominate scorer who was oddly unselfish as well. If they weren’t robbed by UConn a couple years later in the Sweet 16 (again... see below), Roy could have led the Huskies to the Final Four. (Note: No quality video of the three together, so these are from the '04-'05 season and the 2006 Sweet 16, when Roy just gives it to Rudy Gay. Conroy had graduated.)





10). 2005-2006 Villanova Wildcats – Allen Ray (18.5 points), Kyle Lowry (11 points, 3.9 assists), Randy Foye (20.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists)

Remember these guys? Or when Allen Ray literally had his eye pumped out? Okay, all kidding aside, this trio was hard-nosed, physical, and with Ray, had just the right amount of finesse. Lowry could guard anyone and penetrated gaps unlike anyone else, and Foye was a carbon copy, only a little better at both. It certainly wasn’t their fault for not making it past the Elite Eight as Florida rolled them en route to its first title of the back-to-backs. No player on the ‘Nova roster that season was taller than 6-7, so guarding Joakim Noah, Al Horford and Corey Brewer presented just a few match-up problems.



9). 2003-2005 Marquette Golden Eagles – Dwyane Wade (21.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists), Travis Diener (11.8 points, 5.6 assists)

Marquette shocked the college basketball world when it made its unforgettable run to the 2003 Final Four. Travis Diener could stick it from anywhere and became the undersized kid that everybody loved, while Wade developed into a bonafide superstar. His dashes to the basket were basically unstoppable and his athleticism was unparalleled. But they were thwarted by the KU buzzsaw in the national semifinal. Kirk Hinrich and Co. bottled up Marquette in a 94-61 rout.

8). 2007-2008 Memphis Tigers – Derrick Rose (14 points, 4.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds), Chris Douglas-Roberts (17.3 points)

With the exception of Jay Williams, Derrick Rose is the best college guard of the decade. His power, speed and quickness made him a dynamic threat, but his competitive fire made him nearly unstoppable at Memphis. Chris Douglas-Roberts, with his herky jerky moves and awkward drives, made him one of the elite wings in the country. If it weren’t for John Calipari’s failure to emphasize free throws (he once told PTI that when he recruits a player he looks for 25 things, and free throws are 26th on that list), we’d be talking about Memphis as a championship team, not a runner-up.

7). 2001-2002 Maryland Terrapins – Juan Dixon (20.4 points, 4.6 rebounds), Steve Blake (7.8 points, 8 assists)

These two are the ultimate testament to what great guard play can mean come March. Dixon had a stellar senior year, but reached tournament immortality by averaging 26 points in leading the Turtle to its first national title ever. Blake was the exemplary point guard, able to get into the teeth of the defense and kick out to Dixon and Drew Nicholas, while operating the pick and roll to perfection with Lonny Baxter and Chris Wilcox. Again, it’s one thing to have good big men, but as previously alluded to, if your guards can’t deliver the ball, it really doesn’t matter.

6). 2003-2004 St. Joseph’s Hawks – Jameer Nelson (20.6 points, 5.3 assists, 3 steals), Delonte West (18.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists)

Remember watching Phil Martelli parade the sidelines like a mad men that year? Neither Nelson nor West were huge recruits, but this sensational duo led St. Joes to a No.1 ranking for much of the season and an Elite Eight appearance. West was the less heralded of the two, but the southpaw became a great scorer who could fill it up from deep.

Nelson was the perfect college point guard – a much more talented Mateen Cleaves if you will. Small, but tough and strong, not blazingly fast but super quick, and he could finish through insurmountable amounts of contact. The two played brilliantly off of each other.

The NBA is experiencing perhaps its greatest concentration of point guards in its long and often guard-heavy history. From Chris Paul to Deron Williams to Rajon Rondo to Derrick Rose, all across the league, we are seeing young points spring up to stardom.

Of course, there remains the good ol’ staple of more seasoned point guards -- a la Jason Kidd, Tony Parker, Chauncey Billups and Steve Nash –- and oh yeah, some more young talents such as Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry and Brandon Jennings. Even Raymond Felton, a once forgotten cog drafted fifth right behind Williams and Paul, has turned an otherwise ordinary career into a banner season under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden.

With this in mind, there is still one name that’s hardly ever mentioned in these discussions, and yet, really needs to be ...

Jrue Holiday was the former massive high school recruit who struggled at times during his freshman year at UCLA in averaging less than 9 points per game and slipping to the 17th pick in the 2009 draft. Perhaps forgotten about, he has since dramatically blossomed into one of the finest young guards around. However, he’s done so well under the radar for a Philadelphia franchise most associated with a) Andre Iguodala and b) chronic losing.

In truth, it’s not hard to understand why Holiday isn’t categorized with some of his peers. He plays for a traditionally terrible team and isn’t the uber flashy or nightly highlight reel that other premier young point guards are, i.e. Westbrook or Rose.

Holiday, though, is as naturally talented and gifted as anyone. And while he can’t jump out of the gym like Westbrook or shoot the three like Curry, he is an extremely heady player who does what a point guard is supposed to do: Run the offense, make others better and score enough to remain a threat with the ball so that defenses can’t simply key in on top scorers.

But where the 20-year-old Holiday does most of his damage is operating out of the pick-and-roll –- where he has become an excellent facilitator of easy scoring chances, so much so that he has revived Elton Brand’s once dormant career. Last season, with Holiday playing ten minutes less per game, Brand's career looked to be in a tailspin. This season however, with his new favorite pick-and-roll partner, the 31-year-old has seen a bump in every major offensive category. His field goal percentage has jumped from 48 to 52.2 percent, and both his free throws and scoring are way up as well.

Holiday is a natural scorer in the sense that he understands when and how to attack the basket. He is very tough and hard-nosed considering his relatively scrawny frame, displaying a regular ability to finish through contact in the paint. He continually maintains terrific balance and really good footwork. While his jumper in college was a work in progress outside of 16 feet, his shooting form was sound and steady.

(Holiday has extended the range on his jumper and become a consistent three-point threat.)

He normally gets good lift, rotation and arch, leading to it becoming a reliable weapon in his arsenal. On the year, Holiday is converting on 36.8 percent of his threes and 81 percent of his free throws, both significant numbers for a point guard.

A deft penetrator and passer, Holiday shows uncanny savvy and maturity in terms of when to dish and when to look for his own shot, hence his ability to run the screen-and-and-roll. He has blazing end-line-to-end-line speed, making him a natural playmaker in transition. Better yet, he shows tremendous maturity by rarely making mistakes, instead opting not necessarily to go for the highlight play, but rather, the simpler and correct play. Holiday seems to understand the one component that many young players don't: basketball is a simple game, merely made complicated by the overwhelming tendency to hurry.

The one complaint about Holiday's style is he can become complacent, not always being aggressive in the half-court set. Case in point: Despite his ankle-breaking quickness, he only gets to the free-throw line less than three times per game. In order to become the top notch point his talent level suggests, this number will have to increase.

This shouldn't be a concern, though. While not a super athlete, Holiday relies on a long stride and quick first step, to go along with a vast array of explosive moves and his lengthy 6-4 frame when he is attacking, which tells you that as he continues to develop, he should be able to consistently flourish in the half-court set. Holiday’s size advantage over other point guards is a tool he will only improve upon using in time. He currently ranks second in assists and fourth in steals among all first- and second-year players and his recent triple-double effort along with 13.8 points per game and 6.2 assists is certainly impressive, but Holiday’s game goes beyond the numbers, because he is playing well beyond his youth.

Offensively he shows great poise, but it is on defense where Holiday really separates himself from his young peers. Beyond his length and footwork, what’s most impressive is that Holiday has shown the overall desire to defend. He gets angered when his man scores on him, taking it upon himself to lock up the opposing point guard. Furthermore, he is plenty eager to help defend, playing passing lanes well, but more importantly, willing to take a charge.

He also understands defensive positioning and thus rarely has to reach or take an unnecessary gamble. The best defenses have to help out the least, and Holiday can be that rare defensive anchor at the point guard position. His 1.5 steals per game is undoubtedly impressive, but it’s his overall commitment to the defensive end that stands out even more.

(Holiday's willingness to defend and hustle differentiates him from many young players and has helped Philly climb out of the Eastern Conference cellar.)

For a young guard, especially a lead guard, this is a welcoming sign. By initiating this brand of defense on the opposing point, he is setting the tone for the other four guys to do the same. Defense is more of a mentality than anything else, and if your 20-year-old point guard shows the commitment, it’s likely that in time, the rest of the team will as well.

Holiday wholly displays a real sense and keen grasp of his leadership abilities. Point guards are supposed to be an extended coach on the floor, and that is precisely what he has become for head coach Doug Collins. His near 2.3 assists-to-turnover ratio is an excellent mark, especially considering he is without a dominant wing (Iguodala is a nice player but not a true No. 1) or low-post scorer and void of a real backup point, and thus is handling almost all of the ball handling and facilitation duties himself.

Looking around the league at some of the other elite point guards, we begin to get an understanding of how special Holiday’s assists-to-turnover number is, boasting a better ratio than Westbrook, Curry, Evans, Billups and Jennings, and nearly on par with Rose and Wall.

More importantly, he has helped spry a struggling franchise into relevance once again. Heading into the All-Star break, Philly is 27-29, already having matched its win total last season, and sitting in seventh place in the exceedingly difficult Eastern Conference. The 76ers, though, are 7-3 in their past ten, and hold one of the league's better home court records at 17-9, including recent home wins over Denver and San Antonio, in which Holiday led all scorers with 27 points. All of this is with the neophyte Holiday at the helm, running the show night in and night out, leading the team in minutes played.

Not bad for one of the youngest players in the league, and for a guy hardly ever mentioned in such a class of the NBA’s “elite” young point guards.

It didn’t take long for Orlando GM Otis Smith to recognize his team’s deficiencies in the loaded Eastern Conference. After a solid start to the season, the Magic went through a brutal stretch in early December where it lost six of seven games, including losses to Utah, Atlanta and Denver, all teams it needs to beat if it wants to be a contender.

(With his new teammates flanking him, Dwight Howard can smile again.)

Aside from Dwight Howard in the paint, Orlando was having a bevy of issues defending anyone, and despite the onslaught of threes last season (an all-time NBA record), it seemed hampered and slow on offense, where it couldn’t consistently get the ball into Howard down low, and was unable to ever develop any sort of real rhythm or flow on a game-to-game basis.

As with most struggling teams, many of the issues can be attributed to the point guard. Jameer Nelson, a solid NBA point guard for sure, is also an undersized and not overly quick point who when defending elite guards becomes a liability if he’s not hitting his jumper. Nelson is a tough defender who will battle all night, but his lack of sheer speed and size make him at times a problem guarding super quick guys. Considering that the three other Eastern Conference contenders feature Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade (at times) running the point, not having an alternative option as a lead guard translates to crisis mode.

Gilbert Arenas, whom Smith acquired from Washington for Rashard Lewis, doesn’t completely fix the Nelson conundrum, but he certainly provides relief in the form of a nicely composed band aid. Not a good defender himself, Arenas’ benefit will come solely at the offensive end, where despite not being the dominant scorer of the “Hibachi” days, he is still a deadly three-point shooter who can also create his own shot, something Lewis couldn’t do.


(The addition of Arenas helps spell the scoring role from Jameer Nelson and gives Orlando yet another three-point shooting threat.)

While Arenas surely won’t replace Nelson, he offers a unique blend of 1-2 guard ability. His shooting alone should help free up Nelson a bit and he excels pushing tempo where he can either pull up or find somebody else for an open three, a staple to the Magic attack. Bottom line: Arenas he is a drastic upgrade from the anemic Chris Duhon to backup Nelson at the point.

Lewis himself is clearly at the tail-end of his career. Getting rid of such a one-dimensional player stands as one of the better moves of Smith’s career. Why he ever gave Lewis $118 million over six years from a sign-and-trade with the Seattle Sonics is an entirely different story.

Lewis, never an apt ball handler, tenacious rebounder or defender, had seen his only real value reduced to spotting up on the perimeter to shoot 3’s. But even then, the 6-10 forward was hitting them at an alarmingly low rate, his worst percentage since the ’02-’03 season. Much of the scoring earlier in his career came from the post where he had developed a lethal turnaround jumper, but his refusal to post up anymore and lack of rebounding officially made him a one-trick pony … with a diminishing trick even then.

Another key cog to the Magic’s mega-trades is the emergence of Brandon Bass. The super athletic and active banger who loves to bully his way around the paint and create contact resulted in Marcin Gortat officially becoming a bystander for Stan Van Gundy. A talented backup center that clogs the paint and has a deft touch around the basket, Gortat was perhaps the toughest piece for Smith to let go, especially given the foul trouble that Howard has been prone to in the past. The Magic of course matched Gortat’s $34 million offer sheet from Dallas – which he publicly expressed his displeasure toward -- in July 2009, so playing him less than 16 minutes a night simply wasn’t proving to be a good investment. Bass himself is still just 25 and has shown plenty of upside to one day become a middle tier starting four-man, making Gortat expendable. Further, Bass is a much better bargain at just $4 million every year through 2013, compared to the nearly $8 million Gortat will earn in 2013-14, the final year of his contract.

But perhaps the best thing about the Gortat deal for Orlando was that it also freed itself of perennial loser and underachiever Vince Carter. Whatever “Vinsanity” was left for Carter had long vacated him before he came to central Florida. Never a good fit for a Magic team seeking leadership and consistent scoring from its best perimeter player, Carter tanked for much of last season and was heinous in the playoffs, when he singlehandedly shot Orlando out of games and literally refused to defend.

One other key element dealt was Jekyll and Hyde shooting guard Mickael Pietrus, a perpetual gunner and subpar defender who like Lewis, only value stemmed from an inconsistent three-point shooting stroke. The Frenchman, while he did hit some big shots for Orlando, was clearly never going to become the shutdown defender or consistent scorer he had shown glimpses of becoming as a plus athlete with good size and strength. Chances are it’s not a coincidence that the Suns have lost six out of seven since the debut of Pietrus and Gortat on Dec. 26, and five out of six since Carter joined the lineup.

On the flip side, the reward for Pietrus and Carter has proved to be gigantic. Hedo Turkoglu -- whom Smith never should have let walk in the first place -- and Jason Richardson are both excelling in Orlando’s run-and-gun format along with its half-court dump offense revolving around Howard. Richardson won’t ever be the unstoppable force Vince Carter used to be, but in many ways his game mirrors some of the same elements: He is a fantastic athlete who attacks the rim and is awesome in transition, has an effective pull-up game, is a decent defender and really good three-point shooter.

Turkoglu, meanwhile, has re-assumed his role as the ultimate point-forward playmaker he had during his first stint with the Magic. His diverse ability and unique skillset, along with his willingness to alleviate some of the ball handling duties from Nelson make him a drastic upgrade from the sinking Lewis. Plus Lewis, who is a natural three-man, was clearly never comfortable playing power forward and thus played out of position during parts of his tenure for Van Gundy. In averaging 12.5 points and 6.5 assists, Turkoglu has taken much of the creative pressures off of Nelson, and provided a superb pick-and-roll partner for Howard. He is also one of the more clutch shooters around. Richardson, with his explosive leaping ability and scoring prowess, has been just the athletic spark this team needed on the perimeter and his 38.6 percent long range marksmanship spreads the floor far more than Vince Carter ever could.

Turkoglu is a natural wing player whose creative capacities allow for Bass to start at the four and gives Ryan Anderson the chance to slide into a crucial bench slot.


(Turkoglu may just be the most significant upgrade for Orlando. His versatility as a point-forward will be huge for the Magic offensively, and a monumental different from the stagnant Rashard Lewis.)

Anderson, like Lewis, is a 6-10 outside oriented player. He provides a real outside threat and is a decent rebounder. Not merely a serviceable role player, Anderson is just as good if not better than Lewis at this stage in his career. He is also a willing low-post presence at times, and since emerging from the cellar of Van Gundy’s bench proceeding the trades, the third-year man out of Cal has hit the double-digit mark in all but two games. Moreover, at under $1.5 million salary this season, he too is a thrifty bargain for Otis Smith, especially with the league’s new CBA talks lurking.

At the end of the day though, none of this matters if Orlando doesn’t have Dwight Howard. The 25-year-old monstrous pivot is the be all and end all of this franchise. He makes everything go.

When you have a superstar talent in his prime, not surrounding him with the necessary pieces to win a title is like not allowing Zenyatta to run in the Breeder’s Cup. That’s what was so demoralizing about Kevin Garnett during his Minnesota days. Here was this brilliant, once-in-a-generation talent relegated to rotting away on mediocre teams for a most of his career.

After losing two straight after the trades, Orlando has rattled off nine consecutive victories, including wins over San Antonio, Dallas, New York and Boston. The new pieces meanwhile, are fitting in just as I said they would (link up to twitter). All three are averaging double figures in points, but Turkoglu and Richardson in particular, have turned a once predictable Magic offense into a dynamic and nearly unguardable attack.

During the Magic’s nine-game winning streak, at least five players have scored in double digits every game, and only once did just the five. This is now a club that wins with a high octane offense scoring from all over the floor and has enough depth to supplant cold spells or even injuries. Better yet, with its re-tooled defense anchored by D12 down low, Orlando can defend well enough in a prolonged series to survive shooting woes, something it couldn’t do in the past. As of January 11, the Magic were fifth in the league in total points allowed. Even better, during the eleven games since the trades, they’ve held their opponent to under their season scoring average in all but one affair. For the first time since its Finals run in 2008, Orlando team is showing a full commitment to winning on a nightly basis.

The Heat and Celtics are typically considered the two real contenders in the east, with the Bulls a distant, albeit relevant third or fourth, but with its retooled line-up surrounding a Superman-type talent (no pun intended), the Magic deserve not just to be in the discussion, but side-by-side with the two big guns. While it will continue to bomb from long range and occasionally fail to shut the door on teams when they should, Orlando is nevertheless a legitimate contender with Howard as an anchor in the paint to go along with an influx of gifted perimeter players and stable bigs.

Orlando finally … has a real shot at the title. Follow me on Twitter @206Child

We’re almost halfway through the NBA season and it’s time to give some marquee rookies their midterm grades …

The Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin has been sensational after missing all of last season with a stress fracture in his left knee. Griffin should be the first rookie All-Star since Yao Ming in 2003, and his 21.7 points and 12.5 rebounds make him on pace to have one of the best rookie years of all time.

We all knew what type of talent John Wall coming out of Kentucky. While he’s missed eight games, he too has been wildly impressive when on the floor. A close second to Griffin for Rookie of the Year, Wall has drives and dashes to the basket that make him perhaps the most exciting young guard in the league.

Biggest bust goes to Evan Turner. The No. 2 pick out of Ohio State by the Philadelphia 76ers has fizzled to the point that he may be the NBA’s worst actual “shooting” guard.

Turner is averaging 7 points on a putrid 38.8 percent shooting. Worse, he is just 25 percent from the three and has relinquished his role in the starting line-up to Jodie Meeks, a former second-round pick.

Turner has also struggled mightily on the defensive end, namely with quick guards who can penetrate the lane. He is a liability on both ends of the floor.

The most puzzling rookie thus far is DeMarcus Cousins, the brute force center who is becoming more known for temper tantrums than actual play. The Kings’ top pick has validated all of the maturity questions scouts and GMs alike were worried about. Most notably, Cousins has feuded with head coach Paul Westphal and been kicked out of practice. Moreover, he’s been rumored to be headed down to the D-League – not exactly what Kings’ fans had in mind when Geoff Petrie made him the fifth overall pick.

Nevertheless, the 20-year-old has shown glimpses of dominance, particularly of late, averaging over 22 points and nearly 10 rebounds over his past four games. The big fella has a knack for using his body and bullying his way in the paint, but his lack of a soft touch (43.2 percent shooting) and emotional outbursts remain legitimate concerns.

Another rookie to watch is Derrick Favors, who has seen his name swirl in trade talks as much as any No. 3 pick in draft history, yet managed to keep level-headed and play surprisingly well. Loaded with upside, the Nets’ Favors has harnessed his natural ability and parlayed it into success.

Instead of being worried about isolation chances where he’s forced to either score or make a challenging decision with the ball, Favors has focused on the simple things: running the floor, rebounding and defending. Still raw, Favors will only improve, and the comparisons to Dwight Howard in terms of dominating the paint at both ends of the floor, although drastic, are not unrealistic. His numbers won’t wow you, but his 6.4 points to go along with a 56.4 field goal percentage and 5.1 rebounds in limited playing time suggest that Favors can be special.

Landry Fields of the Knicks is by far the biggest surprise of the class. The second-round pick probably won’t become a star, but is already a strong player. The four-year swingman from Stanford has displayed remarkable poise and savvy in seizing a starting role from Mike D’Antoni, who doesn’t always love to play rookies (see Jordan Hill last year).

Fields, like Griffin, has now repeated as rookie of the month. He has the sort of old man’s cerebral game that coaches love and successful teams need -- the type of player who doesn’t need the ball to be effective, Fields is an active defender, terrific guard rebounder at 7.4 a game and consistent shooter (51 percent). In time, he will become a solid 13-15 point scorer to go along with his rebounding and defensive prowess, and is just the type of glue guy that the Knicks – especially if they get Carmelo or CP3 – would need to become a real contender in the east.

Follow me on Twitter @206Child

Note: Statistics are accurate through Wednesday, January 5.

NEW YORK -- For at least one night in New York City, Madison Square Garden was booming like the mid-to-late 90s, reminiscent of the infamously intense Heat-Knicks playoff battles.

With LeBron James and the Miami Thrice in town, all of the stars were out, from Drake to Fabolous to my personal favorite, Liam Neeson ("Taken" is an incredible movie). And of course, Spike Lee, with his orange cap and rousing fandom, tried to will the hapless Knicks to victory. It didn’t work.

Now, a quarter of the season in, we are finally seeing just how scary the Heat can be. Having won 12 games in a row and clicking on all cylinders, the Miami Thrice put on a marvelous show on the greatest stage. LeBron had what seemed to be the easiest triple double ever, while Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade each poured in 26 points. Meanwhile, the much-maligned ancillary parts –- namely Carlos Arroyo -- also contributed. Arroyo was the benefactor of all the attention James and Wade generated, spotting up in the corner for one open jumper after another and finishing with 11 points.

For Knick fans hoping the team’s recent resurgence was for real, Friday night signified that it’s not.

The problem with Mike D’Antoni’s system is that quite simply, it’s just not winning basketball. The entire game plan is predicated off of outscoring the opponent. In other words, get as many shots as possible throughout the game because the more shots taken, the more points scored.

What D’Antoni has seemingly never taken into account is that teams are going to have off nights. Everybody in the NBA can score. When the Knicks go cold, as they did Friday night (shooting 39 percent as a team), it’s a serious problem because they don’t have the framework of a lockdown defensive team. Despite the potential to defend with rangy athletes like Stoudemire, Wilson Chandler and Anthony Randolph (if he played), the Knicks sit at 27th in the NBA in points allowed, giving up over 107 per game.

D’Antoni’s Phoenix teams, in the midst of Steve Nash’s two MVPs, a younger Amar’e, an All-Star stat-stuffer in Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw (when he was good), Leandro Barbosa, Joe Johnson and others, were infinitely better than the Knicks, and they never once reached the Finals.

The biggest reason why the Knicks have been able to outscore opponents this season is the pick-and-roll. Raymond Felton has had his best season as a pro mainly because Stoudemire is No. 1 in the league in points scored off the game’s most basic play. The Knicks ran a flurry of screen-and-rolls during their eight-game win streak, (they also won 13 out of 14) but for whatever reason, abandoned it almost completely in the loss to the Heat. Harping back to D’Antoni, he just doesn’t seem to know what strings to pull and when.

The other glaring weakness for New York is that their supposed “superstar” player isn’t a true superstar. Amar’e Stoudemire, while he has been superb thus far this season, showed exactly why he is still just a great No. 2, not a killer No. 1. Against an imposing defense with quickness and length, his inability to convert scoring opportunities from the block or the high post was readily evident.

The 28-year-old committed four turnovers and was just 11-28 from the floor and 2-7 from the line. Worse, he essentially became a glorified isolation specialist and one-man offense while the rest of the team stood around and watched.

You had to feel for the Knicks just a little bit. A franchise and team long mired in mediocrity and uninspired play looked desperate –- at least for a half –- to try and change the perception of itself.

Landry Fields, the rookie out of Stanford, continues to play extremely well, particularly for a second-round pick. He has the sort of old man’s game you don’t expect to see out of such a young player. Fields has a terrific feel; he can pass, score, drive, and rebound. He just makes winning basketball plays. And Danilo Gallinari, the 22-year-old Italian, continues to improve and get tougher going to the basket. His Herculean first half effort of 21 points was the main reason why the game remained tied at the break.

But Felton, the floor general whose main job is to set the pace for this team, failed to do so all game long. Then again, maybe he didn’t. They say the point guard is an extension of the coach on the floor, and perhaps, that’s just what he was. D’Antoni, for all we know, may be just fine with Felton’s poor decision making as long as he’s pushing tempo. Far too often Felton came down the court only to jack up quick shots, dribble into no-man’s land or make a poor pass, failing time and time again to properly initiate the offense. All in all, he finished with 8 points on 3-12 shooting and (if you’re into the plus-minus stat), registered a game-low -33.

This was a big week for the Knicks. They beat an underachieving Denver team only to lose to Boston and then get bulldozed by Miami. The Eastern Conference is taking shape with a formidable top four featuring three real contenders in the Heat, Celtics and Magic, as well as the upstart Bulls and Bucks, not to mention the talented albeit inconsistent Hawks. The Knicks, meanwhile, are merely an afterthought. Without an elite point guard, coach or superstar, they remain nothing more than an entertaining tease. So long as D’Antoni is the coach, they will continue to be, quite simply, the Knicks. Don’t get too down, though, Knick fans … there’s still the Carmelo sweepstakes.

Wait, never mind, that won’t matter either.

Follow me on Twitter @206Child

In front of a nationally televised audience in the most highly anticipated early season match-up in recent memory, Duke point guard Kyrie Irving absolutely lit up All-American Kalin Lucas and his No. 6 ranked Michigan State Spartans in an impressive 84-79 win.

While everyone knew the Blue Devils would be back with vengeance this season, perhaps nobody figured just how dynamic their young point guard would become this early on.

To put it mildly, the 6-2 Irving is a revelation. His ability to run a team this talented with star upperclassmen at such a young age is remarkable. As a result, it can’t help garner comparisons to lead guards of the past three years, all stellar freshmen – Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans and John Wall.

The great thing about Irving is that while he is aptly quick and gifted as a scorer, he does so in such a decisive fashion that it’s hard to fathom this was just his seventh collegiate game.

Against a superb college point guard and senior with two Final Fours under his belt, Irving took what was supposed to be either a Spartans advantage or at least a draw and made it into a convincing Duke advantage.

Where Irving stands out and is most impressive is the pace and control he plays with.

Most young point guards have no problem in the open floor. The transition game is something they’ve been doing forever: Pushing tempo and finishing on the break or finding a teammate. And make no mistake, Irving made every right decision in the open floor against Michigan State.

Irving separates himself from Wall (whom we’re using as a comparison because he was the No.1 pick in the draft and arguably better than Evans and Rose in college,) by how he is running his team in the halfcourt set.

While Irving is a dynamite scorer – 31 points against MSU – it’s his understanding of the game and willingness to dictate the offense that makes him so special. On any great basketball team, the point guard is the heartbeat of the team, the extension of the coach on the floor. Against Sparty, Irving patiently dictated the offense to a tee.

When Kyle Singler, who struggled for much of the affair, called for the ball on the right wing late in the game, Irving had the trust and understanding to find him on the wing for a crucial three. When proven senior Nolan Smith wanted the ball at crucial moments down the stretch, Irving obliged, and Smith in turn, iced the game with a three.

Simply put, these are winning basketball plays. Nothing that makes you say “wow,” but ultimately, what leads to victories. Irving, despite his youth, seems to possess a natural feel and perception of

how to find guys at the right times. He also knows when to attack the paint, how to change direction, when to pull up, how to avoid the charge and finish with the left and when to just slow things down.

If you remember, these are just the types of things that inhibited Wall during the NCAA tournament last season. After a dominant regular season, Wall had Kentucky flying high – quite literally – with his infusion of alley-oops and acrobatics. But as we know, the tournament, similar to the NBA playoffs, is less about flair and more about steak and potatoes. More specifically, can you execute in the halfcourt?

When Wall and the Wildcats matched up against a disciplined and well-coached West Virginia team in the Elite Eight, they were not allowed to get up and down the floor at the type of warp-speed pace they had been doing all year long. West Virginia slowed down the game and forced Wall to beat it by actually running an offense. Against both zone and man-to-man, the normally cruise-controlled freshman was clearly perplexed and frustrated.

His inability to get into the gaps and create for others became evident as he made one poor decision after another. Perhaps more importantly, his failure to knock down open shots from the perimeter led to a loss. While he did manage to put up 19 points and 5 assists, he shot just 1-5 from three and 4-8 from the line, and had 5 turnovers. Now part of that blame is put on John Calipari’s refusal to abandon the dribble-drive offense even against the zone, but much of it is on Wall, who, for the first time in his life, couldn’t get to where he wanted on the floor. Once again, let’s not forget that Wall was a great college player. That said, Irving is already better.

The two biggest reasons why? 1) Irving can really shoot and 2) He is excellent in the pick-and-roll -- two strengths that will serve him very well at the next level.

Irving’s compact jumper, a quiet, well orchestrated stroke, is consistent in look and execution. He has a knack for finding space to shoot and while he is remarkably quick and explosive, he has the rare ability to slow it down when he stops on the dime to shoot, something Wall continues to struggle with in his early NBA career.

With the pick-and-roll, the two biggest keys are timing and understanding. You don’t have to be super quick or shifty to run it, just smart and steady like Steve Nash. The guy has made a Hall of Fame career by being the single best at running it for the past decade. John Stockton is another example.

Irving, although not the sheer athlete that Wall is, has an exceptional first step. He doesn’t however, do what most young guards do when a screener comes to set a pick. Instead of speeding up and going too early, he calmly waits for the screener to get set, and then begins to make his move. This does two things: It virtually ensures his teammate won’t get called for a moving screen (hugely important considering Duke's lack of depth on its frontline), and it allows Irving to read the defense and decide how he wants to attack. He also knows when to attack the paint, how to change direction, when to pull up,

how to avoid the charge and finish with the left and when to just slow things down.

Lastly, when he does, he continues to make one correct decision after another. One play, he comes off hard left and pops from 12 feet, the next he accelerates to the basket and finishes with either hand amidst contact, then he goes right, scares the defense and draws two defenders, and finds Mason Plumlee for the dunk, and finally, out of nowhere he zips a beeline pass to the corner to a teammate whose defender vacated him on his rotational duties.

These things may seem simple, and in truth they are, but basketball is a simple game. Such a skillset is highly unusual for a point guard as young and talented as Irving is. He didn’t get quite the fanfare entering college as Wall did, but this kid is really special. If the NBA goes through with the lockout, he could very likely stay for his sophomore year and become even more seasoned.

He hasn’t even played an ACC game yet, so it is a little early to fully buy into Irving, but it’s just so hard not to. Even against Kansas State and its senior All-American point guard Jacob Pullen, Irving looked to be the seasoned vet. While we haven’t even mentioned his defensive prowess, it is worth noting that like Lucas, Pullen struggled mightily with Irving’s hounding defense. In the loss, Pullen finished the game with a measly 4 points, 4 turnovers and just one assists while shooting 1-12 from the floor. Irving, meanwhile, tallied 17 points and 6 assists in the win.

Was Wall a good defender in college? Yes, he was, especially on paper. But Wall, with his near 2 steals per game last season, gambled in the passing lanes far too often, leaving his team in helpless 5-4 situations. Irving in a sense is much more of a true lockdown defender. He moves his feet well, hardly ever reaching, and actually seems to enjoy guarding his man 25 feet from the basket. In the Mike Krzyzewski system, he will only improve, both as an on-ball defender and as a helper.

Sometimes statistics can be misleading, but Irving’s show the efficiency and effectiveness of how he operates a team. He is averaging a team-high 17.4 points, 5.1 assists (second), 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals (first), and is shooting an insane 53.2 percent from the floor and 89.6 percent from the line. Wow. Throw in 45.2 percent from three and all of Irving’s shooting numbers are far better than where Wall finished his freshman campaign.

Not only is Irving already the best player in college basketball, he is already better than John Wall was at any point during last season.

Follow me on Twitter @206Child

The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls are the most dominant team in NBA history. Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Toni Kukoc and Dennis Rodman won 72 regular-season games and a world title. They became the benchmark for greatest team ever.

So when Pat Riley magically assembled the greatest backcourt we’ve ever seen and added elite power forward Chris Bosh to the Miami Heat, we couldn’t help but compare the two. At least in terms of sheer talent and star power, you can easily put the two teams in the same sentence.

Hate him or love him, Riley, to his credit, has also put together a splendid supporting cast around his star-studded trio. Mike Miller is a dead-eye, career 40 percent three-point shooter (coming off a 48 percent year) and underrated playmaker, who will fit in perfectly on the perimeter waiting for James and Wade to kick out when confronted with helping defenders.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas, while far past his prime, brings familiarity and comfort to James at center, and his size alone will make drivers hesitate. And don’t forget the re-signing of Udonis Haslem, a brute-forced rock in the paint who will fight to the death. His willingness to take less money and return to Miami could play a pivotal role in how far this team ultimately goes.

Throw in an unproven young point guard in Mario Chalmers (isn’t this eerily familiar to Rajon Rondo with the Celtics in 2008?), along with another hard-nosed kid in Joel Anthony, a couple interesting young players and talent wise, this team is pretty special.

But any basketball fan will tell you that talent alone far from guarantees success, especially at this level.

Looking back at the Bulls, it’s a team that despite the overwhelming presence of Jordan, had all of the other parts working in unison. The great thing about Pippen was despite his brilliance, he was more than happy to be the best No. 2 ever.

(The great thing about Pippen was that he loved being the No. 2 ... and did it better than anybody else.)


There was never a quandary with him of, “I deserve to be the top dog so I will.” Could he have been a No. 1 elsewhere? Absolutely. In fact, when Jordan took his brief hiatus to play baseball, Pippen was sensational and had Chicago one game away from the Eastern Conference Finals. But with Jordan, he instead accepted his role to the tee, played second fiddle, and selflessly became a top 50 all-time player.

While Rodman was crazy, he was also smart. He didn’t care to score, like ever. He didn’t even want to score. The two things he did that entire season were rebound the hell out of the ball (14.9 per game), and defend like his life depended on it. Then comes Kukoc, a dynamite sixth man who could score from all over the floor, and whose mere presence on the court lifted pressure off Jordan and alleviated the burden off Pippen. He was the perfect No. 3 option on a team with a clear-cut 1 and 2.

On paper, the Heat has the talent to match up with the Bulls, and that’s not even debatable. What is debatable, however, is how this talent will execute and who on this team is willing to succumb as the No. 2, e.g. Pippen. We know Bosh is the three, but the real question is who is the alpha male, and who is going to be called upon in the clutch?

And don’t give me the whole, “well they have three superstars” argument, because, frankly, that’s a joke. LeBron is a superstar talent yes, but as a friend eloquently put it, “He has a beta male mentality.” Wade is a true killer who gets to the line and hits big shots, but he also misses a ton of big shots, and Bosh is merely but an All-Star and that’s it; a very good player who cannot be counted on during crunch time, nor should he be.

My concerns with the Heat are quite simple. First, despite being considered the superior talent in the game, will James let Wade run the show? And say he does early on: What happens when this team loses a few games? Does James take back the reigns and create friction in the locker room? How does a young coach in Eric Spoelstra handle it, or does he not handle it? Is Pat Riley coming back? What happens when Wade has the ball in the closing seconds of games and elects to kick it out to Miller or Chalmers and they miss?

Then the entire world wants to know why the hell ancillary players are getting the last shot over James and Bosh, when in truth, James still hasn’t proven he can fill that role and Bosh is well, Bosh. I cannot stress enough the significance of having a true No. 1 option, and just how much it translates to championship basketball. Not a semi-No. 1 but a true, bonafide killer you can always rely on.

Let’s look at the past 15 titles:

2010 – Lakers (Kobe)
2009 – Lakers (Kobe)
2008 – Celtics (Pierce)
2007 – Spurs (Duncan)
2006 – Heat (Wade)
2005 – Spurs (Duncan)
2004 – Pistons (Billups – a little iffy but during those playoffs, he took over and was Finals MVP)
2003 – Spurs (Duncan)
2002 – Lakers (Shaq)
2001 – Lakers (Shaq)
2000 – Lakers (Shaq)
1999 – Spurs (Duncan)
1998 – Bulls (Jordan)
1997 – Bulls (Jordan)
1996 – Bulls (Jordan)
1995 – Rockets (Hakeem)

Think back to the any of the great Celtics, Lakers and Pistons team of the 80s. The Celtics had Bird, the Lakers had Magic (who was both a genius passer and clutch scorer) and the Pistons had Isiah. And there you go. It’s that simple really; you need a clear-cut No. 1 to win NBA titles.

The heartbeat of these champions is always the definitive leader. Wade is the only one on this team that can assume this role; he is the only guy who will hit the dagger and then step on your throat. LeBron essentially admitted (and Jordan seconded it) that at the age of 25 (which is nowhere near the peak of his career), that he simply isn’t that guy.

The beauty of that Bulls team was its superb balance.

Everyone – from one through twelve – played a role, and everyone mattered. B.J. Armstrong, while never a particularly good defender, was adept at handling the ball enough for Jordan to play off the ball and score within the offense when he needed to. His 4.9 assists were rather pedestrian yes, but he was a terrific outside shooter who could spread the floor – so important from the point guard position – and consistently hit the mid-range jumper. That season, Armstrong hit on 47.3 percent of his triples and nearly 47 percent from the floor. He was an 84 percent free throw shooter. Bottom line? The guy wasn’t special, he was just steady. Now who on this Heat team will play that role? It’s not Mario Chalmers, and he’s the only true point on the roster (Carlos Arroyo not a starter in this league). Can Wade and James play the point? Of course, but neither wants to do it for 48 minutes of 82 games, nor should they.

As mentioned, the Bulls were a team with tremendous balance. Bill Wennington is not a name synonymous with greatness, but he played a crucial role on that team. How many big men can come off the bench playing 15 minutes a night and shoot 49.3 percent from the floor and 86 percent from the line?

Ron Harper may have only averaged 7.3 points that season, but you could make the argument that without him, this team doesn’t win a title. Think of Harper as the mid-90s Derek Fisher -- nothing great, nothing even really good, but everything solid. The type of warrior all champions need. Big shots, tough defense, leadership; that was Ron Harper on a nutshell. The guy started 80 games that year in the backcourt, often defended the No. 1 scorer, providing yet another opportunity for MJ to conserve his legs late in games. Remind you of Fish and Kobe these past two years? Fisher doesn’t play the defense he used to, but you just get the sense the Lakers needed every ounce of his grit to win the past two titles.

Now who on Miami will play this role? Wade? Nope. James? Nope. James Jones? I like him, but hell no. As talented as the Heat are at the top and even extending to the bench, this is not a team that has glue guys. This is not a team that has a Fisher, or a James Posey (think ’08 Celtics), or a Michael Cooper for that matter.

Luc Longley and Udonis Haslem probably even each other out in the frontcourt as two bigs that will both fight on the glass and score just enough to not hurt you offensively. But who is the Rodman on the Heat? Who is the guy who when that shot goes up, you know is going to grab the rebound? And don’t say Haslem because as much as I love him, he’s never averaged double-digit rebounds. Joel Anthony is a nice young player with a bright future ahead as an athletic banger, but he is still two or three years away from being a full-time starter or at least a consistent, 25 minutes a night frontcourt player. And Zydrunas Ilgauskas – who will play a pivotal role on this team, mind you -- is about five years past his prime.

How Spoelstra manages this team will be crucial (what’s the running line on Pat Riley returning to coach by the way? I have it at 2-1.) Can Miller be a glorified sixth man when he returns from injury, a la Toni Kukoc? It sounds crazy, but in reality, this team doesn’t need Miller in the starting line-up. Although an outside shooter, he is still enough of a playmaking threat that he too needs the ball in his hands. They already have enough offense with the three stars, meaning his loss – which will undoubtedly hurt them – isn’t the end of the world. Eddie House is as good a three-point shooter as you’ll find for $2.8 million over three years and can fill the outside void until Miller returns.

Think of him as the modern day Steve Kerr. Both are undersized guards who often struggle defensively and cannot create off the bounce other than the occasional head fake and one-to-two dribble pull-up. But, on a team full of playmakers, they play extremely valuable roles. During the Bulls dream season in ’96, Kerr was tremendous. He shot more than 51 percent from three, spreading the floor just enough to force defenders to stay home and allow ample driving space for Jordan and Pippen. And while he didn’t get to the line often, the dude was flat out brilliant when he did, shooting nearly 93 percent and averaging over 8 points per game. Time and time again he hit big shots. He didn’t start a single game, but he was invaluable to that team.

House is similar in stature and performance. During the Celtics’ title run in the 2007-08 season, he too averaged 8.4 points while providing stellar marksmanship from three. His near 40 percent clip from the outside was the perfect compliment to the Big 3 plus Rondo, and like Kerr, he came up big in the clutch.

Like the Bulls, the Heat seems to have many of the right role players in place. While the end of Chicago’s bench consisted of Jud Buechler (good shooter and tough defender) and Randy Brown (quality back up point guard who could run a team for 10-12 minutes a night), the Heat have James Jones (scorer) and Arroyo (who should be the backup by season's end). Chicago also had key veteran big men on the bench like James Edwards and John Salley – two big dudes who could protect the paint and use up fouls. Miami has two carbon copies in Jamaal Magloire and Juwan Howard.

The key differences between the two teams are that the Bulls had perhaps the greatest coach of all time in Jackson and a clear-cut leader in Jordan, the rare blend of player who would rip your heart out and actually enjoy it. Plus, as afore-stated, Pippen was perfectly content playing the role of sidekick.

(Wade is the only killer on this team, but will LeBron succomb to him in the clutch?)


Early talk out of Miami is that this remains Wade’s team, but we know LeBron is the better player. Usually, the best player is reserved the right as leader of the team. Will LeBron let Wade be that guy? I’m not talking about the first two months of the season either, when this team could easily assume the best record in the league, but rather, come crunch time next spring when the game is on the line.

The saddest thing about this entire situation to me is James. He sold himself short, bottom line. Forget the legacy, forget the branding, forget all that nonsense, and just focus on the basketball. Whether he would have achieved Jordan’s status and make the argument for all-time greatest is moot, but the fact that he didn’t even give himself the chance, that’s all we need to know. He couldn’t handle the pressure, he couldn’t bare the burden, and whatever the excuse, James will never fulfill the promises we all bestowed upon him.

Jordan told us all we needed to know when he said: “There’s no way, with hindsight, I would’ve ever called up Larry, called up Magic and said, ‘hey, look, let’s get together and play on one team.’”

Just what you’d expect from the game’s all-time No. 1 assassin.

Ultimately, like any other all-time great, James will be judged by the number of rings he owns. Jordan has six, and unbeknownst to many perhaps, he didn’t win his first until he was 28. LeBron has already deemed this team would win multiple championships with his whole “not one, not two, not three, not four …” shebang, but of course, talk is cheap.

Hate ‘em or love ‘em, the Heat are built for long term success and sustainability. Bosh, James and Wade are all 28 and younger, while Chalmers is just 24. And while role players are very important, they always come and go. Will this team live up to their promise and top the Bulls as all-time greats, we can only speculate, but the mere fact that Miami has three of the top 15 players in the league locked up for what seems like an eternity puts them in rarified air to do something very special.

To quote the infamous Kevin Garnett, “anything is possible!!!”

Tier 5:

1). Carl Landry, 6-9, 26 years old, (Sacramento) – Sacramento has found itself an unknown gem in Landry. The former second-round pick was widely unregarded coming out of Wisconsin, but has shown tremendous strides and become a legitimate starting NBA four-man. Landry is extremely useful in the half-court where he understands spacing and how to run screen-and-rolls very well for such a young player. He is not the physically dominate rebounder, but he is a decent one, as his near 6 per game suggests. Landry’s best attributes are his scoring, progressing defense and overall intelligence.

In the 29 games since coming over from Houston, he averaged 18 points and almost 7 rebounds as a full-time starter, compared to the 16 and 6 he put up for the Rockets. His field-goal percentage has dipped a little bit, from 55 to 52 percent, showing that perhaps he shouldn’t be taking the nearly 14 shots per game he has since the deal. Even so, Landry is a highly effective, if not the most imposing guy. He is a good leaper who’s quick off his feet, and understands precisely how to operate on both sides of the ball. This was a great pick-up for the Kings, a team all of a sudden featuring a bevy of frontcourt talent in Jason Thompson, Landry, Omri Casspi, and the young prize, DeMarcus Cousins.

2). Nene Hilario, 6-11, 27 years old, (Denver) – At his best, Nene is an attacking and powerful big man who uses his swift first step and a flurry of post moves to abuse smaller or slower defenders. At his worst? Just watch tape from the Nuggets first-round series with the Jazz. After a couple good games to start the series, Nene became nonexistent.

In the final three playoff games he played (DNP Game 6), Nene averaged a mere 6.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and managed to get off just 9 shot attempts. Wow, that is bad.

Nene is both a bruiser and a finesse guy; a rare combination for such a big body, but unless he suddenly develops a killer mentality, he will always be just another good player for a Nuggets team that may never break through, even if Carmelo re-signs.

3). Andrea Bargnani, 7-0, 24 years old (Toronto) – Had he not been the No.1 pick back in 2006, people would be drooling about this kid’s talent. A hybrid power forward/center, Bargnani is most comfortable extending his game to the perimeter where he is a fabulous three-point shooter and great pick-and-pop option.

The criticism throughout his brief career has centered around his lack of aggressiveness and physicality, especially on the glass; he averages less than 5 rebounds. Some point guards are in the 4-range, so that is completely unacceptable. To be fair, Bargnani has improved this area of his game, as well as just about every other area. The Italian import put up 17 points and over 6 rebounds in this his best season as a pro. You may worry about the 47 percent field goal percentage, a poor number under normal circumstances for a big man, but not for Bargnani, as many of his shot attempts come from outside the paint.

Will he ever be the franchise building block Raptors fans hoped he would be back in 2006? Absolutely not. But his consistent efforts this season are nothing to scoff at. He is a solid starter on a playoff team, and at worst, a great sixth man on a contender.

The upside question always seems to creep in with young players, and Bargnani is an interesting case. While he’s an average athlete, he is so immensely skilled for his size that he makes up for it. Despite his three-point shooting prowess, Bargnani should spend more time on the block, where he has expanded on his turn-around jumper, and even developed a little running hook in the lane. Doing so will only create more rebounding opportunities, and help him get to the line more often, where he shoots over 77 percent, but only takes 3 per game.

4). J.J. Hickson, 6-9, 21 years old (Cleveland) – Similar to Jason Thompson, as discussed below, Hickson doesn’t have to be the focal point of an offense to be effective. But if he gets touches, he is a useful frontcourt player. Hickson is a high ceiling type of talent who will become a valuable asset in Cleveland as his game progresses. Just 21, the third-year man out of N.C. State is a high energy guy who is also very athletic who started to show off his array of tools last season.

(Hickson has all of the tools to be special, and with Big Z and LeBron both out, he may finally get the chance.)


He has a great first step and is a quick leaper at the rim. Often times he’ll blow by bigger players and explode to the rim for a dunk. LeBron's willingness to distribute the ball and allow Hickson opportunities to score has been vital to the young fella’s development. In March, Hickson was a valuable component to the Cavs’ continued success, averaging nearly 12 points and 6 rebounds while shooing nearly 56 percent from the floor. There is no question this is the four man of the future in Cleveland, and it’s not coincidental that former GM Danny Ferry was so hesitant to trade him at the deadline. Some may say he merely made a living off LeBron drawing attention.

In part, this is true, but such is the beauty of James, and the finishing capacity of Hickson, who fills the lanes and runs the floor extremely well and has already shown development away from the basket. As he continues to mature and develop, Hickson may be the best candidate in this grouping to be an All-Star. Can he be a reliable second option next season without a superstar around him is the question.

5). Marreese Speights, 6-10, 22 years old, (Philadelphia) – I really like this kid. Speights has fallen off the radar a bit because of his knee injury, but before he got hurt, he had put together an impressive string of games. For example, during a three-game stretch in December, Speights averaged about 20 points and 8 rebounds, showing 76ers fans why he was so highly regarded coming out of school. A somewhat forgotten member of the famed Florida Gators dynasty, Speights is a powerful kid who moves very well given his size (6-10, 245). His work away from the hoop needs to be honed, but in the low post Speights is a man. He doesn’t have the skill set of other guys and can’t really finish with the left, but he’s so strong and so physical that it doesn’t really matter. His combination of brute force and toughness combat his lack of refinement. We all know how often high-ceiling guys don’t live up to their potential, and Speights is certainly a candidate. He lacks the refinement necessary to become a full-time starter, but his ability to play both frontcourt spots helps make up for it.

Because he is constantly congests the paint and is a defensive force, the priority moving forward is to further expand his offensive game and improve his touch around the hoop and try to raise his field percentage into the 50s. He will see more playing time this season, and by adding to his offensive repertoire, Speights could easily become the power forward of the future in Philly, and prove to be a nice pick-and-roll twosome with Jrue Holiday or Evan Turner.

6). Robin Lopez, 7-0. 22 years old, (Phoenix) – Lopez has kind of become the forgotten brother since entering the league with Brook two years ago. But he shouldn’t be. While Brook is a far more polished player, Robin – kind of in the mold of Gasol as the less heralded brother -- has a certain nastiness and grit to him you love to see. Since Alvin Gentry opted to start him back in December, he became the ideal infusion of energy and assertiveness lacking in Phoenix since it adopted the “seven seconds or less offense.” Lopez played well in tandem with Amare, not crowding him in the painted area or high post, and reading the floor quite well. As a result, Amare played the best basketball of his career since the All-Star break, leading the NBA in scoring after the All-Star break. Lopez gives you all of the intangibles: hedging ball screens, outlet passing to Nash (so important in this offense), and clogging driving lanes.

Lopez is still nowhere near the offensive weapon as Brook, so he finds ways to contribute in other areas, kind of like a poor man’s Joakim Noah. (He may actually be more talented than Noah which suggests great room for growth given the stage Noah is currently at). He is tremendous off the glass, fighting for every ball with both his position and desire. In just 24.5 minutes per game as a starter, Lopez averaged over 11 points and 6 rebounds for the Suns. More impressively, he shot close to 60 percent from the floor, and made over 74 percent of his free throws, a great clip for a center. Similar to the aforementioned Oden, Lopez isn’t particularly comfortable on the low block, often resorting to hurried play and a failure to assess the defense or beat the double-team. The difference? Despite his aggressive play however, he has managed to stay on the court and keep out of foul trouble, hence his 1.4 fouls per game.

The next step for Lopez is to increase his range (he is very limited outside of 8 feet), and develop one or two reliable moves either down low or facing up to the basket. With the throng of talent in Phoenix, he will not be called upon to score much in the coming years, even with Stoudemire gone. The fact that Team USA is interested in him says all you need to know. At just 22 years old, Lopez could easily become one of the better pivots in the now dented west.

7). DeJuan Blair, 6-7, 20 years old – “The round mound of rebound!” Okay, so that was taking it too far, but you can’t help but notice some of the similarities between Blair and Charles Barkley.

The 6-7 (if that) Blair is a monster on the glass, an ideal compliment to Tim Duncan as San Antonio tries to make one more playoff run. Given his play at Pittsburgh, Blair deserved to be a first-round pick in last June’s draft. But he is undersized and not particularly athletic. Further, he has no ACL’s. Literally, he doesn’t have any ACL’s. Apparently, when he had surgery back in high school, it began the peculiar process of his ligaments deteriorating until finally, there were none left.

(Blair is a true beast.)


So it was only fitting that the Spurs – who have a knack for finding value in places others don’t – nabbed him in the second round. Let’s not forget that this is the same franchise that drafted Tony Parker and George Hill late in the first round. And that’s what Blair is -- value.

As either a starter or reserve, Blair has come in and immediately impacted this team with his ferocious appetite to rebound and an overall belligerent style of play in the paint. In a mere 18 minutes per game, he averaged a healthy 8 points and over 6 rebounds while playing stout defense at both frontcourt spots. His ability to spell Duncan proved dividends for Timmy, who can no longer play the 40 minutes plus he used to. As a result, Duncan appears as fresh and in tune as has been since the All-Star break. After a precocious March that saw him average just 14 and 8, he has played well in April. In slightly less minutes, Duncan has put up 17 and 9 while shooting 64 percent, his best clip all year (granted it’s only seven games), and immeasurably better than the 48 percent he shot during March.

At 6-7 without a true post game, DeJuan Blair isn’t a future All-Star performer. But, he will be an extremely productive player. He is ridiculously long and although not a highlight leaper, he is so strong and bullish in the paint that he makes up for it. And he has massive hands; once he gets those mitts on the ball, forget it.

While his high motor will always earn him minutes, if he wants to be a consistent starter, Blair has to work on his offensive footwork and overall scoring ability as almost all of his points now come off put-backs. He just needs to make his shot a threat, and it will open up other facets of his game, including aiding his free-throw shooting, which rests at a horrid 54.7 percent. His recent performance in the regular season against a Dallas team not resting its starters showed evidence that he is fully capable. In 37 minutes, Blair totaled a beastly 27 points and 23 rebounds.

8). Jason Thompson, 6-11, 23 years old (Sacramento) – When Thompson came out of little known Rider in 2008, you could see why the Kings targeted him so high at No. 12 despite his small school pedigree. In his second year, Thompson has excelled in the front court, playing both the four and five spots for a very young and exuberant Sacramento team. With Tyreke Evans proving a bonafide pick-and-roll partner, Thompson has shown off his mid-range touch, in which he appears comfortable out to 16 feet, quite a luxury to have for a young big man. Thompson isn’t the athlete as some of his counterparts, but he is a future rotational guy who can get you 14 and 8 without having to have any plays run for him. There is something to be said for that.

Last guy: Darko Milicic -- Hey, he’s still just barely 25 years old, and David Kahn still believes in him, hence the $20 million deal. You know if Kahn is a believer, than you got it made. Okay, that’s it: I demand a reality TV show on Kahn and Darko. How amazing would that be?

Tier 38:

Michael Beasley, 6-10, 21 years old (Minnesota) – Think Miami wants this pick back? Watch Beasley play for five minutes and you’ll find yourself irked and irritated. A naturally gifted scorer coming out of Kansas State two years ago, Beasley is the ultimate enigma – a talent who should be getting 20 and 10 or close to it on a nightly basis, but instead is merely average on a rather average Heat team. While his regular season numbers were decent – 15 and 6 -- they were nowhere near the type of All-Star production Miami thought it was getting when the Heat drafted him No. 2 overall. Beasley should be the Robin to Wade’s Batman, but instead he is disturbingly lazy, deftly immature, and clearly not devoted to the game.

Beasley often becomes a drifter, opting not to play defense, nor hustle. He occasionally knocks down a 17-footer, followed by a glimpse of luster with a quick jab step and blow-by leading to a thunderous slam. Then he gets beat repeatedly on defense, throws up a couple bricks followed by an inexcusable turnover. Bottom line: There is just no consistency and no passion in his game. The former can’t-miss prospect has become the ultimate miss. In Miami’s first-round series with Boston, he was nothing short of awful. In five games, he averaged 10.4 points, including a miserable Game 5 performance in which he scored two points and attempted just three shots. When you consider what Derrick Rose has done in Chicago, and that many thought Beasley should have been the first overall choice, he has been a huge disappointment.

My favorite Beasley story was told to me by a well renowned and respected New York streetball coach. The summer Beasley entered the league, he played in one of those epic Rucker Park games against some of Manhattan’s finest talent. Several NBAers play in these affairs to hone their skills in the offseason and keep in shape. In the first half, Beasley struggled. He wasn’t hustling, got dunked on and actually got booed. He had something like 4 or 5 points; a joke for the second pick in the draft. Guys were laughing at him.

("My name is 'B-Eazy'. I am one of the biggest draft busts in recent memory, yet I continue to smoke weed -- thanks David Kahn -- and buy $100,000 cars despite my rookie salary.")


Then in the second half, he comes out all fired up, and starts destroying people, killing them. He goes for 30-35 points and leads his team to the win, as if to say, “I can turn it on whenever I want, but I don’t always have to.”

That’s Beasley for you. As abundantly talented as he is, his motor is always in question. When he wants to play hard, he can be unstoppable. But that’s a big “if.” Case in point: the entire Boston series. Despite several highlight reel plays, he remained quiet and reserved, accepting a deferring role to the point where head coach Erik Spoestra opted to play the far less talented but much more driven Joel Anthony and Udonis Haslem in crunch time. On countless opportunities at the basket, Beasley went to the rim soft with ridiculous flip shots and weak attempts, refusing to use his size and athleticism to draw contact and get hit. If he ever does figure it out, the sky is the limit for this kid, but the more and more you watch him, you have to assume he never will.

All you need to know is Miami got just a second-round pick for him, and that was by far the best it could do.

(“My name is Amar'e: All I ever do is dunk. But thanks to the Knicks - gulp - and Steve Nash - I just got $100 million richer!”)

With all the talk of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement set to be in place next season, and with all the chatter about teams losing money, you would think that owners and GMs alike would be a bit more cautious about dishing out boatloads of cash, especially to such ordinary players.

This off-season is young, but already we have seen the effects of the greatest free agent class in NBA history. When the Knicks realized they weren’t likely going to get LeBron James, they realized that some move – any move – had to be made. Enter Amar’e Stoudemire, the matador dunking machine coming off another disappointing playoff finish.

Stoudemire, not unlike former Knick David Lee, is a fine player more than capable operating as your No. 2 weapon so as long as you have a top tier point guard. But even then, as we saw for eight seasons with the Suns, he is not the caliber of player to make you a contender. My general rule of thumb when giving a max contract is that it instantly makes you a contender, or close to it. Giving Stoudemire $100 million over five years maybe gets you into the eight seed in the suddenly filled Eastern Conference. For $20 million or so less, New York could have kept Lee and built a far better surrounding cast around him. But Donnie Walsh felt he had to do something, and do it fast, and Stoudemire was that something.

Trouble didn’t just end there for Knick fans. It never does, does it?

As quickly as James evaporated from discussion, sluggish point guard Raymond Felton entered the mix. Felton, a drastically under-achieving former No. 5 pick, is perhaps a slight upgrade from Chris Duhon, but that doesn’t say much. A terrible shooter with a propensity for out-of-control drives and a lack of court vision whose assists total last year matched the lowest of his rather nondescript career, he represents a marginal pick-and-roll option for Stoudemire. He is inept at creating matchup problems and making others better. Yet, Felton, the savvy businessman, somehow garnered a three-year, $21 million deal from the Knicks. That’s right. One of the worst starting point guards in the league just signed a $21 million contract. Still not sure how asinine this move is?

Consider that Charlotte Bobcats head coach Larry Brown was willing to part ways with Felton because he thought third-year man D.J. Augustin was the better player. ‘Nuff said.

To be fair to Walsh and the Knicks, the insanity of free agency contracts has been commonplace throughout the entire league. Ancillary players like Travis Outlaw (five years, $35 million), Hakim Warrick (four years, $18 million) and Darko Milicic (four years, $20 million) are being paid like they are valuable cogs to a title contender. Heck, even upper echelon players like Joe Johnson are being treated like royalty. Johnson, the somewhat enigmatic shooting guard who disappeared in the playoffs, recently signed a max deal worth $123.7 million over six years. Yikes!

Why, with the new CBA approaching and the salary cap lowering, are owners acting on what appears to be sheer impulse and zero sense? Aside from the suddenly scary Heat, vastly improved Bulls and revamped Clippers (sorry, took that too far), the front offices of the NBA have gone completely haywire. Perhaps teams are trying to cope with the fact that they couldn’t sign James or that because they have money, they in turn have to spend money, but really, your guess is as good as mine. Moving on …

Drew Gooden, I think we all owe you a huge congratulatory message for your James Bond antics of stealing $32 million from the hopeless Bucks. And just when you thought Milwaukee was ready to make the next step into league relevance … the Bucks piss it away. They give the full mid-level to an incumbent power forward who just happened to have the best 24-game stretch of his career leading into the offseason. To be frank, this just seems like a Clippers move more than anything. Ironically, the Bucks actually have some real talent in place.

Brandon Jennings is a fine young point, Andrew Bogut is coming off a banner year and John Salmons – although you may have overpaid a bit at $39 million – is a quality scorer on the wing who takes pressure off of Jennings. If Michael Redd can give you anything from the perimeter, this is a pretty decent team that should be in the playoffs again. Which makes it that much worse than you just wasted a sizable contract on a sub-par big man with durability questions (hasn’t played 80 games since the ’06-07 season). Just a year ago, no team would offer Gooden more than a one year, non-guaranteed $4 million deal, so playing those pressure-cooked minutes with the Clips really paid off.

Look on the bright side: Maybe Gooden will grow back his head patch to give Bucks fans solace in his signing!

In his rather regular career, Mavericks center Brendan Haywood has never averaged more than 10.6 points or 8.9 rebounds. He is a steady player who could probably start on most teams but never star. A reliable shot blocker and paint clogger, he is a good guy to have on your team. He doesn’t hurt you, but then again he doesn’t help you a ton either.

Apparently however, Mark Cuban thinks that Haywood is on the verge of stardom, because how else can you explain the former Tar Heels’ newly inked six-year, $55 million deal? Is this some kind of a sick joke? Haywood’s new deal is just the type of awful contract that teams try to get rid of after one season. So he averaged over 10 rebounds after the trade? Like Gooden, it was a contract year, what else do we expect. Big men are infamous for exceeding expectations in contract years only to revert back to mediocrity the following season, money in hand, (um, Jerome James anyone?)

Unfortunately for Suns fans, Mr. Cuban also isn’t alone in this gross misunderstanding of contract negotiations.

Ah, Channing Frye. What a year it’s been for you. From exiled vet to playoff star, you are now the proud recipient of a brand, spanking new five-year, $30 million contract.

Are you kidding me?!?

As much as I love spot-up shooters, especially 6-10 ones, Frye is the ultimate one-trick pony who benefited from an abundantly talented supporting cast while receiving open looks aplenty from the perimeter. He doesn’t bang, he doesn’t defend, and he doesn’t make anybody better. Yet, when contract time came, Frye all of a sudden appealed to the Suns’ brass as some type of up-and-coming star who they couldn’t afford to lose. Jerry Colangelo may be the architect of the Redeem Team, but as an owner, he needs some serious help in deciding who to give his money to. With that in mind …

New Facebook petition: Bring back Steve Kerr!

With much of the league’s power shifting to the east, we have certainly seen some seismic activity take place this summer. What strikes me the most is how the traditionally solid teams continue to make the right moves and avoid overpaying for players, while lowly franchises still find themselves mired in poor contracts with misfit line-ups. There is a reason why the Lakers have won two titles in a row, and why the Celtics have been to two out of the last three Finals, and why the Spurs (Richard Jefferson not withstanding) remain relevant, and why the Bulls are climbing the ladder. And as well as these organizations continue to operate, so too do the league dormants operate without any rhyme or reason.

Leave it to the Knicks to give Amar’e Stoudemire $100 million when Carlos Boozer took $75 million and uber-talented young wing Rudy Gay was available for $82 million. But it’s not just the max deals that matter. Just take Charlotte, for example. Instead of building off the momentum of the first playoff appearance in franchise history, the Bobcats were overzealous (or maybe just Michael Jordan was) and gave the underachieving Tyrus Thomas $40 million over five years.

David Kahn officially etched his name in stone as one of the worst GMs of all time with the Darko move causing me to burst out, “He’s at it again!”




(Darko! Darko! Darko! David Kahn's recent re-signing of the always awful Milicic just proves that anyone can be an NBA GM. The only requirement is that you just have to be very, very stupid.)


Speaking of which, I highly advise everyone to watch this video below featuring a defensive Kahn, irritable Chris Webber, and impressive job of moderation by Matt Winer. Note Webber's response when Kahn idiotically compares Milicic to him. God I love the NBA.



Once again for T-Wolves fans, this has to be increasingly frustrating. Use that $20 million wisely, and you can get another piece moving forward to help this team grow. If Darko is that piece, than God help us all. And then he traded away their best piece in Al Jefferson for what will be two low first-round picks. At the very least, you can’t say this isn’t entertaining right?

Looking for two words to sum up this offseason? I got you covered …

“Mind-bottling.” (Thanks, Will Ferrell.)

Michael Jordan would've never done this. Larry Bird wouldn't have. Neither would Magic Johnson. The circus that LeBron James has created over the past few weeks has been nothing short of ridiculous. Forget the incessant reports by ESPN or the nonstop Twitter rumors – we have grown accustomed to that -- but the way in which James and his camp have mismanaged and oversaturated our airwaves with nonsense time and time again is insane.

True, we are living in a far different time now than we were 20 years ago. The unparalleled access we have to our athletes can't compare to the Showtime Lakers of the '80s or even the "NBA on NBC" themed '90s.

Unfortunately, the LeBron fiasco culminates in Thursday night's "special" where "The King" will announce his decision. On one hand, James' charitable efforts to donate the money to boys and girls clubs, which are noble and sound. But there is unquestionably a strong disconnect between the sports fan and the modern athlete, an integrity which has been lost. I mean, how much can the casual sports fan relate to the professional athlete. In his case, by essentially opening himself up to the public, James has tricked us into thinking we somehow matter, that we somehow have meaning. He has exponentially widened the gap to the point where the connection between the fan and James no longer exists.

This is not the average fan's fault. Sure, James gaining close to 300,000 Twitter followers in 24 hours is a disturbing sign, but when ESPN pushes this coverage faster and more aggressively than a Usain Bolt sprint, you can't help but take notice.

James, on the other hand, has made a mockery of the system. Through his passionate "branding," and by taking advantage of just how deeply he is loved, he has made a mockery of the Cleveland Cavaliers, his teammates and the entire league.

I'm sure David Stern loves the media presence lingering well after the Finals and Draft but how much more can we be subjected to?

I can envision the news conference now. After LeBron picks the Cavs (and he will pick the Cavs), the remaining 59 minutes and 38 seconds will be dedicated to promoting a laundry list of things close to James: His shoes, his tattoos, his new clothing line (I'm speculating here), his new movie, his new online dating service for the people of Ohio and on and on.

How many reports, TV segments, stories and radio shows have we heard debating where James is going? How many times have you just looked at your TV in disgust? How much is enough? More important, does anyone, and I mean anyone, know what is going on?

With their low-key re-signings, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant got it right. In reality, a simple announcement is all that's necessary.

On the basketball floor, we can agree that James is pick-your-superlative special. Whether he goes down as a truly elite player remains to be seen – after all, he's only 25 – but the mockery he's made of the game and of the free agency process this summer won't easily be forgotten. LeBron, you are a basketball player, not an actor. You are paid to play ball, not hold an entire country hostage on the eve of your televised "Decision."

I have a quick question for NBA fans: What type of fanfare did Kobe receive when he recently re-signed with the Lakers? Did he demand his own television program? When Durant announced Wednesday via Twitter that he will extend his deal with the Thunder, it was short and sweet. Which is precisely the way free agency should be.

Of course they have other options outside of basketball, but these are basketball players through and through. Basketball should come first, then global icon status. In other words, the anti-LeBron James.

Memo to LeBron: Forget the fanfare, forget the hype, and forget the fluff. Stop leading us on, make your decision, move on. I've said all along you will be staying in Cleveland. You know, the whole, "he's a loyal Akron kid" argument. But at this point, it's tough to care anymore. Please stop prancing around like you own the league when, in reality, you have never won anything. Oh wait, I stand corrected. You have an Eastern Conference Finals banner and two MVPs.

If you want to be great, if you really do want to go down with the likes of Kobe, Bird, Magic and Jordan, you better start acting like it because this act is quickly growing old. Before you know it, you will be 32 without a ring and (gulp!) without global icon status.

Sadly, I'm not sure what matters more to you.

As we've already seen, the amount of young big man talent in the NBA today is beyond impressive. The heavy hitters are easy to point out: Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire (well, sort of,) and the crown jewel, Dwight Howard. But there are also some fine prospects flying under the radar all over the league. With Tiers 1-3 in the rear-view mirror, let's take a look at Tier 4 and yet another list of very talented young pivots.

This is a fine group of players who could potentially climb the ladder and, in time, find themselves among the top bigs in the NBA. What’s striking about these seven bigs is that not one has under-achieved or failed to live up to expectations. Late lottery and second-round picks – especially big men -- typically take several years to develop before being ready to contribute as starters or well used reserves. The unit compiled here is a mix of sheer upside (Anthony Randolph and Andray Blatche) and players who are already playing vital roles (Paul Millsap, Joakim Noah). Most are still in their rookie contracts, but make no mistake, those on this list will all receive bigger paychecks in the near future.

1). Anthony Randolph, 6-10, 20 years old (Golden State) – I wasn’t sure where to put Randolph since he is still so unproven. The former LSU Tiger is a freakishly long and athletic power forward with one of the highest ceilings of any player in the NBA today. Unfortunately, his season was cut way short by an ankle injury. The 6-10 jumping jack is in the perfect system playing for Don Nelson in Golden State. Randolph is the ultimate get-up-and-down the floor type of kid; a guy who excels in transition and in the open floor where he uses his awesome combination of quickness, speed and leaping ability.

After an outstanding summer league where his play drew serious headlines, Randolph got off to a very good start this season. In 33 games, he averaged 11.6 points and almost 7 rebounds while demonstrating a consistent free-throw stroke (80 percent). All of this came in just 22 minutes of play. Translation? His 48 minutes per is off the charts, as in All-Star level. Now that Golden State has an apt young point guard in Stephen Curry at the helm, the blend of them along with scoring wonder Monta Ellis could soon make fans screaming “We Believe” again, and have Oracle Arena jumping like it was back in the ’07 playoffs.

For all his positives, though, Randolph is still every bit of 20 years old. He is a stick-thin string bean who probably needs to put on at least another 30 pounds to his lean 210-pound frame. The good news is that he put on 20 last summer and a close source to the Warriors tells me he has beefed up more this year during rehab. His offensive game requires a lot of refinement to which the increased strength will certainly help. In the paint during half-court sets, he has to maintain better position on the block and box out more opposed to just relying on his leaping ability. Randolph also must expand his lackluster shooting range so he can pull other bigs away from the hoop and use his extraordinary first step to accelerate and finish at the basket. If he can do these things, he can become one of the most dynamic players in the NBA, a true match-up nightmare and future stud. Think of a right-handed, even taller version of Josh Smith.

2). Marc Gasol, 7-1, 25 years old (Memphis) – Big bro may get more hype, but Marc can play as well. When the Lakers acquired Pau from Memphis at the trading deadline two years ago, many people thought Marc was merely an afterthought. Think again. Baby bro has turned out to be a valuable cog to the Grizzlies future plans, and was a big reason why Memphis flirted with the playoffs for most of the season.

Having lost 80 pounds since arriving to the NBA, Gasol has become a highly effective if not spectacular interior threat, and a defensive weapon. It isn’t common that two post scorers co-exist particularly well, but both Gasol and Zach Randolph turned their contrarian styles into one of the game’s best frontcourts. Gasol can step outside and hit a mid-ranger, but he prefers to establish position down low where his offensive prowess puts pressure on the defense to either foul or double-team.

Before a season-ending neck injury in mid-February, Gasol strung together a fine season, showing off a variety of skills at both ends of the floor. In 69 games for Memphis, he averaged close to 15 points and 9 boards, a consistent double-double threat, supremely impressive considering he was surrounded by the stellar scoring trio of Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo and Randolph. Clearly, he was far from being the focal point of the Grizz offense. His 58 percent field goal percentage was the league’s fourth best, a high honor for anyone, never mind a 25-year-old in his second NBA season.

While he can score, Gasol’s value extends far beyond his point total. His three offensive rebounds per game display his persistence on the glass, and his 1.6 blocks show his tenacity at the defensive end. He is a decent athlete who knows his limitations and doesn’t get himself in bad situations. His positive assists-to-turnover ratio displays a readiness to pass out of the block as well as from the high post, where he is reminiscent of his brother, himself an excellent passer. A very skilled big man only getting better, Marc also has a bit of nastiness, the sort of mean streak you want in the paint. He hates being scored on, and takes pride in his on-ball defense, almost taking it as an insult when he gets beat, which you have to love. He blocks shots, bodies up and takes charges.

He doesn’t possess the upside of others on this list, but Gasol is as steady an option at the center position as you’ll find. His $3.3 million rookie deal is definitely a major bargain at this point, and it will be interesting to see if he remains in Memphis after his deal expires following next season. Randolph has one more year left on his deal, and Gay is likely gone this summer for more dollars, but the potential 1-2 punch of Gasol on the block and Mayo in the backcourt is a good one for Memphis.

3). Paul Millsap, 6-8 (very generous), 25 years old (Utah) – What he lacks in size, Paul Millsap makes up for in a big way with effort; the anti-Michael Beasley if you will. When talk of dealing Boozer at the trade deadline surfaced, common thought was that the emergence of Millsap as a viable option at the four-spot made Boozer expendable. More so, with Boozer out much of the 08-09 season, Millsap was a near All-Star, emerging as one of the best young big men in the NBA.

The nation’s former leading rebounder at Louisiana Tech, Millsap has taken the same approach he used in college to the NBA. Despite being well undersized for an NBA power forward, Millsap is a fierce rebounder who always seems to win 50-50 balls on the glass. He is a solid defender with aptly quick feet and a true nose for the ball. And he can score too.

While Millsap doesn’t have the traditional low post game or pedigree as his Alaskan teammate, he always finds a way to gets done. Coming off the bench in Game 3 for instance against the Nuggets, he altered the entire complexion of the game. Boozer was struggling and the Jazz came out flat. Enter Millsap, who proceeded to destroy both Nene and Kenyon Martin with his entire floor game, going for a ludicrous 22 points and 19 rebounds.

During his four years in the league, the former second-round pick has developed a consistent 16-foot jump shot, and the ability to finish at the basket by using either hand or his Shawn Marion-like quick leaping ability. If Boozer does end up leaving, the combination of Millsap and Deron Williams is still a fearsome pick-and-roll option, surely allowing the Jazz to maintain their stranglehold in the top half of the west.

4). Kendrick Perkins, 6-10, 25 years old, (Boston) – His numbers don’t wow you, he doesn’t have flair or highlight reels and he doesn’t get a ton of credit, but Kendrick Perkins has slowly become one of the better centers in the league, and amid the glamorous status of Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, KG and Ray Allen, perhaps the most underrated center in the Eastern Conference.

Perkins isn’t the best athlete or most fleet of foot, but he really understands positioning and how to get the most out of his big body. Perkins is a fine rebounder at almost 8 per game despite only playing 28 minutes a night. At 6-10, 280 pounds, he is a load underneath, the type of enforcer every good team needs. Against Miami in the first round, the burly Perkins shut down Jermaine O’Neal, causing him to endure one of the worst playoff series … of all time. In 5 games, O’Neal – a former All-Star – averaged 4.2 points and 5.6 rebounds and shot an abysmal 9-44 from the field, and took just 7 free throws.

Although a dreadful free throw shooter at 58 percent, Perkins actually displays a decent touch around the basket, scoring off of put-backs and occasionally with a baby right-handed hook. He’s only gotten better since entering the league six years ago, and at 25, he still has plenty of room for growth. In terms of production right now, he probably deserves to be ranked higher, but his upside isn’t close to the four ranked ahead of him. Even so, Perkins is a very solid option for the aging Celtics to have as a starting center.

5). Andray Blatche, 6-11, 23 years old, (Washington) – Another prom night ascendant, Blatche has become quite the topic of conversation lately with his drastic rise in numbers. Maturity issues aside, he quietly put together one of the better three month stints of any young big in the league. Using a collection of post moves, specifically where he establishes deep position and uses a right baby hook, Blatche turned himself into a dependable low post option for a dire Wizards team searching for any sign of identity or life.

Capable of playing either frontcourt spot, his best contributions this year came at the offensive end and on the glass where he averaged 21 points and 8 rebounds as a full-time starter for Flip Saunders’ club. His upside as a long and dexterous athlete who can out-quick and body up other centers is limitless, but will he achieve them is the question.

The negatives with Blatche are aplenty. He rarely commits himself to the defensive end and appears to have little or no cohesiveness with his teammates or coaching staff. The effort level is not always there. When you watch Blatche play, you often see a disinterested player if he’s not getting his touches. He’ll play decent defense for you if he’s scoring, but if not, he’s a matador. On a bad team like Washington void of any other scorers since Gilbert’s mess along with Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison’s departures, he was been the benefactor, getting upwards of 15-20 touches a game. But this will hardly ever be the case as the Wizards will surely re-tool their roster this summer.

The keys for Blatche are to develop a keen intensity on the defensive end at all times – he will stay on the floor if he can do this – and continue to rebound the basketball. In other words, do the things he can control. Effort is always in your control; touches aren’t. The questions surrounding Blatche are simple. First, is he the 20-10 guy we saw for three months, or is he another Gilbert situation just waiting to happen? Blatche has All-Star talent, but will the sour attitude get in his way?

6.). Joakim Noah, 6-11, 25 years old, (Chicago) – All the evidence you need with Noah is that during his absence, the Bulls lost 10 games in a row without him – allowing more than 5 points per game more than with him in the line-up. When he returned, so did the Bulls, winning 10 of their last 14 to make the playoffs.

His bow-tie suit on draft night was downright scary, but much to the chagrin of many analysts, Noah has since solidified his status as a plus starting center in the NBA.

Much was made about his controversial decision to return to school after almost assuredly being the No. 1 pick in 2007, and his draft stock undoubtedly suffered as a result. However, Noah has proved that his wildly unorthodox shooting motion works, and that the length and size GMs drooled over when he was at Florida is legit. Noah has become a very good defensive center (1.5 blocks), rebounds extremely well (almost 11), and scores enough at 10 per game to avoid becoming the offensive liability some originally pegged him as. Given his length and reaction ability, he is one of the best big men around at altering shots in the lane. Against Cleveland in the first round, he was arguably the Bulls most consistent player, disrupting shots, rebounding, and even scoring. In a pivotal Game 4 that the Cavs won, Noah did his part, going for 21 points and 20 rebounds.

His interior game, however, still needs work. Noah hasn’t grasped the natural feel that his Florida counterpart Al Horford has developed on the block. While Horford reads the defense well and understands which direction to go and how to attack his defender, Noah is still stuck on a left shoulder hook even when his defender is expecting it and giving him the other side. He has a decent touch around the rim, but still short arms too many of his shot attempts, and you’d like to see him cut down on the 14-footer’s defenses dare him to take (see Cleveland series).

Still, Noah has clearly worked hard and improved dramatically since his rookie year. Because of his size and physicality, Noah has an opportunity to rise up into tier three status within the next couple years if he can even mildly expand his offensive tools. Assuming the Bulls can keep him as well as Derrick Rose, Chicago has a bright future ahead with a dynamic point guard and more than capable center.

7). Kevin Love, 6-10, 21 years old – He’s not the sexiest, he’s not the best leaper, and he’s not an All-Star, but Kevin Love is one helluva basketball player; that we know for sure. So much of the focus on Love entering the NBA was on what he couldn’t do, that I think people forgot just how much he could do. In his two seasons in Minnesota, Love has become one of the game’s best rebounders, a surprisingly stout defender, and vastly improved offensive option.

He is the only power forward in the league to rank in the top five in both offensive and defensive rebounding. Other than Pacers forward Troy Murphy, you won’t find another high level rebounder who can step outside and consistently hit the three.

When Love left UCLA, a lot of speculation centered on his faults, namely that he wasn’t athletic enough, was out of shape, and wasn’t really a game-changing presence. While Love may never become an All-Star, he will always be a solid weapon at power forward, and definitely a guy you can win with. Think of him as a very rich man’s version of Nick Collison. He mixes it up inside and out, is tough, productive, and knows how to win. At this point, he relies so much on positioning to rebound that by getting in even better shape, his numbers on the glass would elevate, as would his first step, thus forcing defenders to sag off a bit more and allow him to shoot, which he already does so proficiently. The bottom line is that Love, who is still just 21, will be a really good pro in this league for a long time, and a guy teams will be drooling over after his rookie deal expires following next season.

The NBA Playoffs are well underway, and by now you’ve pretty much heard all of the postseason story lines of every team: Charlotte’s Stephen Jackson on “the brawl,” Dwight Howard and Orlando’s constant whining about fouls, Chicago’s Joakim Noah’s never-ending string of slurs, and the insanity of Oklahoma City’s fresh legs and infusion of talent – speaking of which, can everybody please STOP referring to Kevin Durant as the “Durantula?” That’s honestly the worst nickname in sports. It makes me physically sick.

Anyways, what often gets lost in the shuffle on the voyage to June’s finals are those teams that didn’t make the playoffs. Whether they tanked or not is another question, but that’s for another day. These teams are forced to grind it out in the lottery and hope the No.1 pick falls into their laps unexpectedly, a la Patrick Ewing to the Knicks in 1985 (conspiracy or non-conspiracy). And although their seasons may be finished, there is still a bevy of storylines for those teams. Hail to mediocrity!

Getting Warmer:

Memphis – A litany of question marks surrounds the Grizzlies this offseason. First, will head coach Lionel Hollins be back? Hollins did a marvelous job helping resurrect this team into playoff contention while maintaining chemistry within his ballclub. Personnel wise, what happens with Rudy Gay, a scoring machine coming off a banner season? He will command an influx of cash, but will GM Chris Wallace decide to shell out the dough?

Looking ahead, you have to wonder about Zach Randolph as well, whose contact expires after next season. This is not a franchise that traditionally gives big deals, but both of these guys are going to get paid in a big way, whether or not it’s in Memphis. Marc Gasol is one of the better young bigs around. His continued development will be critical to how much more the Grizz improve.

Houston – I’ve been critical of the Rockets trade of Tracy McGrady and more specifically, bringing on the massive contract of gunner Kevin Martin, but Houston will surely be competitive – if not contending – next season with the return of Yao Ming. Don’t expect too much out of GM Daryl Morey this summer. The main objective is to re-sign forward Luis Scola, who has proven to be a steady option at power forward both in the starting line-up and off the bench. Letting him walk would be a mistake.

New Orleans – With essentially zero cap room this summer, the significance of the draft becomes elevated for the Hornets, a franchise mired in bad contracts. Think about this: Predrag Stojakovic, Emeka Okafor, Morris Peterson and James Posey will combine to make nearly $39 million next season. Throw in Darius Songaila’s $4.5 mill and you have yourself a bona fide nightmare of deals. The good news for Hornet fans is they found two absolute gems last June during the draft in Darren Collison (21st overall), and Marcus Thornton (second round). Collison was so effective filling in for an injured Chris Paul this season that he sparked a point guard controversy; not that he was better than Paul, but that he was good enough (19 points and 9 assists as a starter) to supplant him in the starting line-up and allow Hornets execs to deal CP3 and extract maximum value. I don’t see this happening, but you can begin to understand the type of talent Collison is. While New Orleans should make the playoffs next season with David West and Paul at the helm, the following summer could bring about early Mardi Gras in the Bayou. Assuming they do keep their All-Star point (it’s hard to envision Paul being traded), the Hornets brass will be able to entice free-agents into signing for three key reasons; major cash of course, an all-pro point guard to seriously boost their stats, and a legitimate opportunity to contend.

New Jersey – It’s hard to believe this is a franchise just four years removed from a division title. Yes, they were one of the worst teams in NBA history, and yes they had one game where the fan base literally resembled that of a high school JV game (to be fair it was snowing), but good times are ahead in New Jersey, or should I say Brooklyn? Mikhail Prokhorov has made it clear he wants to spend money, and he’s picked an ideal time to do so. The plethora of free-agents this summer and next along with the potential drafting of John Wall or Evan Turner will almost certainly make the Nets a bolstered team in the near future. Their core base of Brook Lopez, Courtney Lee and Devin Harris is a quality young trio, and despite their atrocious season, the Nets aren’t as far away as their record and lack of attendance suggests.

Light-Years Away:

Washington – The Wizards may have had a blessing in disguise after the Gilbert Arenas debacle – a second chance to right the ship in a game where you never get second chances. Voiding his mega-deal seemed to be the move at the time, but such a move appears less and less likely now. Even so, Washington is one of just eight teams that can offer a max deal this summer, and there is something to be said for that. With Mike Miller, Javaris Crittenton and Josh Howard all likely gone, expect to see some serious fireworks in the nation’s capital in the coming months, and I’m not talking about Barack Obama. Although the Wiz struggled mightily all season, they have a great young talent in big man Andray Blatche, and two capable scorers – even if they are black holes – in Nick Young and Al Thornton.

Expect Washington to make a serious play on several top guns, including Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire and perhaps Dwyane Wade.

Detroit – Joe Dumars has experienced the ultimate high in sports helping orchestrate Detroit’s title in 2004, and the ultimate low as almost single-handedly destroying the Pistons with his poor judgment in both the draft and the free agent market. About the only positive to draw from last summer was drafting Swede Jonas Jerebko in the second round, certainly a nice pick but not a franchise savior to say the least. We knew the Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva experiments would fail (see link), but we didn’t know they’d be this bad. Had he not won a title back in 2004, Dumars inexplicably giving them a combined $90 million would surely have gotten him the ax by this point. With Tayshaun Prince and Rip Hamilton both due to earn a combined $22 million next year, Dumars finds himself locked into four non-All Stars with massive deals. Trouble looms in the Palace. Hey, at least annual cap-eaters Kwame Brown and Ben Wallace are both free-agents this summer!

Stuck in No-Man’s Land:

New York – GM Donnie Walsh has made it clear that he’s not necessarily going to go for broke this summer, despite the obvious attractions that feature the 2010 free-agent class, namely LeBron James. While the Knicks have a ton of cap room now, they also have Eddy Curry's fat deal off the books in 2011 (assuming he accepts his player option this summer). As a result, they may wait and see how low the salary cap goes this summer (common thought is anywhere between $52 and 55 million), and then get ultra aggressive in 2011. Then again, this is New York, and Knick fans have been growing increasingly inpatient with the woes of this franchise. Mike D’Antoni was supposed to invigorate this team with his helter-skelter attack, which has not yet happened. Then again, let’s not forget this was a team by season’s end starting D-League transplant Earl Barron and Bill Walker, while giving cast-offs Sergio Rodriguez and J.R. Giddens prominent bench roles. With enough money to sign two major studs like a Bosh and D-Wade, playing the waiting game seems unlikely. David Lee -- one of just three players in the NBA to average 20-10 -- is coming off an All-Star campaign, and will surely demand a ton of cash, and is probably not going to get it if he sticks around. With Chris Duhon and Al Harrington both gone, we can expect to see a ton of new faces in the orange and blue next season. But we know only one guy will make the big city happy.

Toronto – The Raptors can never seem to get over the hump. After Vince Carter was essentially forced out of town, you wondered when Toronto would get another superstar type of player again. But then came Chris Bosh, an exuberant talent who like Carter, also appears to be out the door. CB4 will command top dollar this summer, and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who thinks Bryan Colangelo is going to pay. His colossal mistake to sign Hedo Turkoglu seems unfixable, as nobody in their right mind is taking on a long-term contract of a declining high volume scorer. Plus, Jose Calderon and former No. 1 pick Andrea Bargnani are locked up with major deals through 2013 and 2015 respectively. Unfortunately for Raptor fans, this is a team that will continue to be mired in mediocrity for the foreseeable future; lucky to sneak into the playoffs as a low seed, but certainly not capable of winning a series.

Indiana – Just hang in one more year Pacer faithful! Big money-makers Troy Murphy (nearly $12 million in ’11), Mike Dunleavy ($10.5 mill in ’11), and Jeff Foster ($6.5 mill in ’11) will be free-agents and as we’ve documented, next summer’s free-agent class is very impressive, featuring the likes of Al Horford, Caron Butler, Aaron Brooks, and the ultimate prizes, Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant. With a star already in place in Danny Granger, it is unlikely Indiana will bring on a heavy hitter like Anthony, but it remains a real possibility for them to sign a quality second option to help Granger and instantly bolster this team back into playoff status. This summer however will be rather uneventful for Indiana, as GM David Morway doesn’t have much flexibility with the cap. Despite their resurgence in the second half of this season, the Pacers are at best a fringe playoff team next year, but certainly hold the keys to a potentially prominent future.

Minnesota – Ricky Rubio may have spurned them after the draft, but Minnesota did find itself another boisterously talented lead guard in Jonny Flynn. If they do wind up with the No. 1 pick, that will be three point guards in two years. With Kevin Love and Al Jefferson proving as formidable a frontline as any, the Wolves have a few very good pieces already in place, all of whom are 25 or younger. With salary chips Mark Blount and Darko Milicic expiring, GM David Kahn will have a surge of funds available to him this summer, (which may or may not be a good thing considering the mistakes he has made in the past). Corey Brewer finally came on this season, but the Wolves still seek another scoring threat on the perimeter. Wayne Ellington has been a disappointment, as has Ramon Sessions, who got a nice deal last summer but did little to warrant it this past season (although to be fair he didn’t get many opportunities either). If this organization is serious about building towards the future, acquiring a young scorer like Rudy Gay or Joe Johnson is the necessary play.

(Will Rudy Gay join the young core of Jefferson, Love, and Flynn this summer?)

Philadelphia – Donovan McNabb may have been traded, but let’s be clear this will be a rather uneventful summer personnel wise for the 76ers, unless you consider deciding whether or not to re-sign Rodney Carney a big deal. However, rumors swirling around Larry Brown returning as coach continue to make wind, and his arrival to the Liberty Bell would help. Elton Brand was a mistake, but even still this team will have an opportunity to improve itself over the next few years. Jrue Holiday and Marresse Speights are a very young and talented guard-forward duo, and Louis Williams and Thaddeus Young are nice young players with bright futures.

When offensively anemic Samuel Dalembert comes off the books next summer, Philly will be in a decent spot to sign a quality player and continue its rebuilding process. Andre Igoudala is what he is – a pretty good to very good player who you probably can win with as your second best player but definitely not as your go-to option. Brand was supposed to be just that, but we all know how that’s turned out.

Promising Future, but just that ... A Future

LAC – It’s hard to be a Clipper fan in LA. It really is. It’s not like in New York with the Mets – who’ve actually won a couple championships and had repeated success – or with the Cubs in Chicago – who are always entertaining and play in an amazing ballpark – or even like LA baseball circles where the Angels have actually had more success (e.g. a World Series title) during the past decade than the far more storied Dodgers. You see, being a Clipper fan is an entirely different bird. It’s almost like being at a high school prom and really wanting to dance with your buddy’s date but knowing you never will. You know it sucks, but you can’t do anything about it … Until now! Owner Donald Sterling is willing to pay to play, which doesn’t necessarily work – Boomdizzle anyone? -- but hey, it’s a start right? This summer means the expiration of several overpriced contracts in Clipper-Land, including Steve Blake, Rasual Butler and Drew Gooden. As a result, LA’s step-brother franchise is one of the eight teams capable of offering max money. In desperate need of another wing scorer to compliment Eric Gordon and help B-Diddy, look for the Clips to make a serious pursuit of either Dwyane Wade or Joe Johnson. If Blake Griffin can fully recover from his season-ending knee injury, the Clips certainly have some good pieces moving forward. Maybe they can dance with that prom date after all.

Sacramento – The Kings may have been putrid this year, but at least they were fun to watch. Rookie of the Year winner Tyreke Evans is a future All-Star, and the continued development of Carl Landry, Jason Thompson and Omri Casspi in the frontcourt is a welcome sign to Kings fans desperately craving their first trip to the playoffs since 2006. Let’s not forget this is an ownership group still paying the salary of retired Shareef Abdur-Rahim, as well as Kenny Thomas, who may as well retire he’s so bad. Akin to their California counterparts down south, the Kings need another wing scorer to compliment the talented Evans in the backcourt. Johnson would be a great fit, as would John Salmons to replace the traded Kevin Martin on the wing. Salmons you can get at a much bigger discount, and what type of dough the Maloofs want to spend remains to be seen. Simply put, the foundation to be successful in Cali’s capital is there for the first time in a long time.

Golden State -- The other team by the bay needs a good summer but has some nice pieces in place nonetheless. On one hand, they are one of the worst defensive teams we’ve ever seen; we can thank Don Nelson and “Nellie Ball” for that. On the other hand, they have two of the best young guards around in Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry, not to mention a potential superstar in 20-year-old jumping jack Anthony Randolph. With a little cap room this summer, look for the Warriors to bring in a high level athlete at a reasonable price who can both defend and run the break; think Ronnie Brewer. The former Jazz and Grizzlies small forward has seen his value deflate after constant struggles on the offensive end. But he could be a bargain for a team like the Warriors, with capable wing scorers (Ellis, Curry, Corey Maggette and Kelenna Azubuike) already in place. Andris Biedrins was a stat-stuffing machine two years ago when he averaged 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks, but injury and Nellie’s doghouse prevented that from happening again this season. If they can get some production out of him next year along with the continued improvement of their young trio, the Warriors should be better in 2010-11 with a bright future looming.

MVP
1. LeBron James -- What can I say really? The next decade-plus of him and Kevin Durant battling will be one scintillating duel.

2. Kevin Durant -- His 30 points per game are special but it’s the ease at which he gets them that’s even more impressive. Still just 21, this kid is quickly ascending into one of the NBA’s best players with his ability to score at will and take over games late, quietly becoming as clutch a performer as the game’s elite.

Yes, I’m looking at you Kobe.

3. Dwight Howard -- Howard is by far the most physically imposing and perhaps most dominant defender since Shaq’s heyday. His offensive output is a bit inconsistent and he still hasn’t become the automatic dump-down type of center, but he is the perfect building block for the Magic.

Defensive Player of the Year
1. Dwight Howard -- The ultimate enforcer and game's most physically dominant defender.

2. Josh Smith -- How can a 6-9 dude who plays on the perimeter lead the NBA in both steals and blocks? I’ve spent two weeks thinking about it. I still don’t know.

3. Andrew Bogut -- Should have been an All-Star and will be one for years to come. An extremely fundamentally sound defender, Bogut doesn’t have the athleticism or imposing nature of Howard, but he does have the length and awareness. A center that can guard his and rotate like a small forward, Bogut is solidified in the top three.

Sixth Man of the Year
1. Jamal Crawford -- Honestly, it’s not even close. Reminds me of last season when fellow Seattle native Jason Terry captured the crown. Crawford is a superb scorer off the bench on an upper echelon team with a great guard in Joe Johnson who comfortably defers to him at times in the clutch. That says a lot.

2. Manu Ginobili -- “The Bat Killer” has really cranked it up lately. Ginobili struggled throughout January, but has been terrific ever since, having averaged 21.4 points and 5.2 rebounds. He is 32, but it was the right move by the Spurs to extend his deal.

3. Ersan Ilyasova -- One of the guys nobody seems to know about but definitely should, Ilyasova hadn’t played in the NBA since 2007. He has certainly made up for lost time. Mainly coming off the bench for the upstart Bucks, he has proven an effective perimeter scorer who can also post up and drive the lane. A critical component to Milwaukee’s surprise playoff appearance, Ilyasova is only 22. Expect him to start in the future.

ROY
1. Tyreke Evans -- The best from start to finish.

2. Stephen Curry -- The baby-faced assassin has it all; stroke, handle, passing, feel.

A sure-fire future All-Star and the best player out of this class.

3. Brandon Jennings -- A bit inconsistent, but too good to not have in the top three. Plus I love lefty points. Just keep on rocking the flat-top baby.

Coach of the Year
1. Scotty Brooks -- This team is very talented yes, but also very, very young. The average age of their starting line-up is only 23 years old. One of the best turnarounds in NBA history is a direct credit to Mr. Brooks.

2. Scott Skiles -- Getting anything – let alone a playoff berth – out of the Bucks deserves a ton of props.

3. Nate McMillan -- Injuries galore haven’t alerted the Blazers road to 50 wins in perhaps the league’s toughest division. McMillan has his critics, but the guy just wins.

One More: Lionel Hollins -- Hollins had the Grizzlies in playoff contention for most of the year. That’s all you need to know.

Most Improved
1. Aaron Brooks -- Another Seattle product (same high school as Jason Terry) has emerged as a top flight point guard despite not having his best pick-and-roll partner all year. Brooks is an absolute jolt who has improved his entire offensive game.

Plus, he’s durable. Despite his small stature and slight frame, Brooks has only missed two games in the past two seasons. He has to get the nod for MIP.

2. Andrew Bogut -- I’m telling you, the guy is legit. We already mentioned his defense, but how about his offense? The Aussie averaged 16 points this year on a quality 52 percent shooting not to mention his 10 rebounds.

3. Russell Westbrook -- The kid has it all. His vision and overall decision making still need work (he misses his roller way too often off screens), as does his shooting range, but this thoroughbred is well on his way to stardom.

One more: Corey Brewer – Who said he was a bust?!

It's not often that walk-ons start in college. It's not often that they become the program's all-time leader in assists, either. And it's especially not often that they make the NBA. But then again, Will Conroy isn't your typical walk-on.

Hailing from the basketball powerhouse of Seattle, Conroy played on the same high school team as current Portland Trail Blazers All-Star Brandon Roy. A compact, strongly-built kid who is effective both in the half court and in transition, he has just the type of winning attitude and demeanor coaches look for in a lead guard.

With an impressive high school pedigree, he considered the likes of Providence, Pittsburgh and Xavier for college, but ultimately the lure of staying home proved too great. "UW offered earlier that summer but I wasn't ready to make a decision, and I waited it out," he said.

But by that time, Washington had no athletic scholarships left to give. Conroy, though, was determined to be a Husky. "I didn't want to go that far back east."

After a spirited affair against rival Franklin High School, a team that featured McDonald's All-American and current Houston Rocket Aaron Brooks, a UW assistant coach approached Conroy.

"He was like, 'You wanna come to Washington?' and I was like, 'yes' and he said 'let's do this,'" Conroy said. "At that point I didn't care (that no scholarships were available)." As fate would have it, another recruit failed to qualify academically, and Conroy had his scholarship.

After a solid freshman campaign that saw him start the final third of the season, Conroy was well on his way to the career he had envisioned. "You dedicate yourself because you never know when your chance will be," he said. "It was a testament to how hard I was working."

When new head coach Lorenzo Romar took over the next season, Conroy immediately respected his outlook. "Coach Romar said everybody had to earn their spot," he said. "He didn't care what happened last year." Despite scoring in double digits in both his sophomore and junior years, Conroy opted to make a significant change in his playing style under the tutelage of Romar.

"I remember sitting down and him saying, 'Will, you have a special ability to make guys around you better. You have to make the decision whether or not you want to be the point guard.' Initially my sophomore and junior years I scored, (but) I fell in love with being a pass-first guard."

Just like that, the transformation for Conroy was clear. As a senior, he averaged 6.4 assists while maintaining a commendable 46 percent field goal percentage, all en route to leading UW -- alongside longtime teammate Brandon Roy -- to the school's first No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament history. Along the way, Conroy took a piece of history home with him as well, setting the school's all-time record for assists.

When the summer of 2005 came, Conroy had high hopes, and rightfully so. He had worked out well at the Portsmouth Invitational, the pre-draft camp for the top collegiate senior prospects, and felt he had potentially played his way into the second round. On draft night, though, he waited, and waited, and waited some more. But his name was never called.

Scouts wondered if he was too small at 6-2 to handle a pro-style offense, or if he was simply a scoring guard trapped in a point's body? Was he laterally quick enough to create for others as well as defend faster guards? Undeterred by this traffic stop and eager to prove the skeptics wrong, Conroy once again went to work.

For two grueling seasons he played for the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA D-League, followed by three NBA call-ups and two stints with elite European teams, Virtus Bologna and Olimpia Milano. But while his improved play has earned him five separate call-ups from the D-League to the NBA – including two by Houston – he still hasn't made a roster out of camp nor has he played a full season in the association.

That said, he maintains a healthy relationship with the Rockets, including head coach Rick Adelman, who has expressed to Conroy how much he admires his game.

"Coach said, 'You have the ability to pass,'" Conroy said. "Right now I'm getting 10 assists and [six] rebounds. At the next level I'm definitely going to be a point guard."

After becoming the final cut in Rockets training camp last fall, Conroy could have bolted back to Europe for a more lucrative contract and lush lifestyle. But that just wouldn't be Conroy. Committed to showing NBA teams' his desire to find a permanent home, he wanted to stay as close to home as possible, right under the radar of any potential suitor.

"I stuck because I was close to making the Rockets," he said. "I'm still really close with the Rockets. Different things happen as it gets close to camp. At this point, the coaches and GMs know I'm a veteran and they know what they're going to get out of me."

Make no mistake -- both the talent and production are there. Conroy is the first player in D-League history to reach the 3,000-point mark and is its all-time leading scorer. In 49 games for Albuquerque last year, he averaged a healthy 26.5 points while maintaining his steadfast commitment to the pass, averaging 8.0 assists, clearly demonstrating he can both score and pass at extremely high levels.

This is unquestionably been a long journey for Conroy. What's perhaps most impressive is how he's successfully balanced the fine line between being himself and playing his own game, along with adapting to life as true facilitator of the basketball but not shying away from his patented attacking style of play. He's averaging 16 points on nearly 52 percent shooting, highlighting his rare ability to get to the basket almost at will.

But his voyage is well worth it.

"My goal is to reach the NBA and stick," Conroy says.

Something tells me he will.

The Houston Rockets have shown the NBA a lot of pride this year. Their resolve is both admirable and impressive. No Yao Ming? No problem. No Tracy McGrady? No problem. Not re-signing their best defender? No problem.

With the job he's done, Rick Adelman deserves at least a percentage of the votes for NBA Coach of the Year. You want to talk about maximizing talent and playing hard -- the Rockets are the epitome of such a sentiment.

Common thought is that Houston will immediately return to the top half of the Western Conference next season when fully healthy. After all, the return of Yao Ming is worth at least another 10-12 wins, right? Maybe so, but when the trading deadline hit February 18, the Rockets got a little -- okay, a lot -- overzealous when they traded away the expiring contract of McGrady as well as Carl Landry for Kevin Martin and Jordan Hill. As a result, the likelihood that Houston will find itself back in the postseason next year may be in serious jeopardy.

McGrady's days as a scoring champ and elite shooting guard in the NBA are long gone. That, we can all agree on. So ridding themselves of him was the right play ... it's just that it was about five months too soon. T-Mac's long-awaited contract expiration date is finally almost here. After this season, the seven-time All-Star will be off the books and into the open market, where he will never see max deal money again. So why, you have to ask, didn't Houston just hold on for his deal to pleasantly expire?

The easy defense to such a question is saying that by doing so, Houston wouldn't get anything in return. In theory, that's true; not re-signing a player clearly means you go empty handed. But in this case, going empty handed is a good thing. Check that -- it's a great thing.

The summer free agency class of 2010 has been well documented as the greatest batch of free-agents ever. Forget the obvious guys like LeBron, D-Wade and Chris Bosh -- what about Joe Johnson, David Lee, Manu Ginobili and Carlos Boozer? And if you want to play the waiting game, there's quite a splash in 2011 with a list that features Al Horford, Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Jeff Green and the two biggest prizes, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony.

The expiring cap space from McGrady's contract is something any GM would gush over. It's like walking around with a golden ticket, available to cash in on anyone, anywhere.

Rockets GM Daryl Morey has done a fine job assembling his team. Aaron Brooks is one of the best young point guards in the league, lockdown defender Trevor Ariza has the potential to be an All-Star, Luis Scola is a wonderfully gifted power forward, and Yao Ming is well, Yao Ming.

Despite low expectations, this team has overachieved in the west, a conference that resembles murderer's row with its brutal string of quality teams 1-8. The Rockets' 38-38 record speaks to the brilliant coaching job by Adelman, as well as a general cohesiveness not common for such an unproven and injury-riddled ballclub. All that said, trading McGrady means a variety of problems await this franchise.

With the cap expected to decrease in 2010 to somewhere in between $51-55 million, Houston will once again be forced to pay the luxury tax. Martin's deal doesn't expire until after the 2012-13 season, by which time the Rockets will have dished out over $40 million to him. Houston will almost assuredly re-sign Scola, whose contract expires this summer, which is the right move. However, Scola has Bird Rights, meaning Morey can bring him back and go over the cap -- good for Scola, but not good for Houston's ever-expanding payroll.

The oddity from Houston's perspective was trading away Carl Landry, a young and versatile power forward who has proven himself as a starter in this league, despite being a second-round pick in 2008. Landry is a quality defender who can score (16.7 points) and has a tremendous grasp on the game for such an unseasoned player. He's better and younger than Scola, who himself is a fine player as well.

Gaining rookie Jordan Hill from New York helps combat the loss, but doesn't make up for it entirely. Hill has underachieved as last June's No. 8 overall pick, part of which can be attributed to Mike D'Antoni, who inexplicably couldn't find a spot for him in the lineup despite the Knicks' well-chronicled struggles. Hill is immature but nonetheless immensely talented. At a chiseled 6-10, he is very skilled and strong, capable of moving bodies on the glass and clogging the paint. The jury is still out, but giving up a proven player in Landry was a high price to pay.

The most vital element to this trade, though was Kevin Martin, the high-octane scorer from Sacramento who came over to fill McGrady's salary chip. At his best, Martin is a wiry slasher capable of getting hot from the outside and going for 35 points. However, the 6-7 wing is as fragile as they come, in and out of the line-up with injuries far too often to be relied upon. In the six seasons as a pro, Martin has never once played all 82 games, and only once has he missed fewer than 21 games.

The production is there -- he hasn't averaged fewer than 19.8 since his second year in the league -- but then again, he's spent the bulk of his career playing for mediocre Kings teams bereft of any other go-to scoring options. Only once has he been to the playoffs, so you really don't know how he'll handle pressure situations. And you can't draw from college because he played at D-2 Western Carolina where he flat out dominated marginal competition.

Since coming over, Martin has done what Martin does: score and miss games. In 18 games with the Rockets, he has averaged 21 points and converted from the line at his usually high 86 percent clip. That's the good with Martin. The bad? He has already missed five games due to a bum shoulder, and at some point you have to wonder at what costs does his scoring have? He doesn't pass the ball at all (under 2 assists for his career), is a below-average defender, and is shooting under 43 percent from the floor since his arrival. The Rockets are just 9-11 with him in the line-up and playing some of their worst basketball of the season.

Despite his offensive prowess and obvious production (career average of 17.3 points on 11.6 FGA), it is Martin's individualistic brand of play that makes him the wrong choice in Houston. Often, his bundle of isolation plays and forced shots take Houston out of its offensive sets, which is especially important when you consider the precision that Adelman runs his offense with. For now, this may not seem like a big deal. The Rockets really don't have another true scorer on the wing (sorry Trevor Ariza), and certainly aren't making the playoffs. But when Yao does return, will Martin have the ability to alter his game enough to allow Houston the opportunity to go through it's center, as it has succesfully done for so long? Whether it's through the high post, on the block, or the pick-and-roll with Brooks, Yao is the focal point.

For most of his career, Martin has been the No. 1 option on a bad team. He has had free reign of the offense, without the impediment of a better teammate or a balanced offense. And just as importantly, he has never had a top flight big man or an inside-out offense, as will be the case with Ming in Houston. McGrady's struggles with Yao were of the same element. He didn't know how to play second fiddle, and often looked lost or disappeared in the half court, deferring to Yao far too often and failing to understand how to use such a valuable weapon to his advantage.

All of this means there is reason for pessimism in Houston right now. The Rockets have won just one playoff series in 13 years, which ironically (or perhaps not) came without McGrady. Taking on Jared Jeffries' contract may prove to be a colossal mistake, as well. New York wouldn't act unless they could dump Jeffries. That was a major priority for GM Donnie Walsh and understandably so. Jeffries will undoubtedly renew his player option next season, netting him another $6.8 million and leaving the Rockets front office with little-to-zero financial flexibility.

This summer was supposed to be the time to go out and get better. Much speculation has been made about the condition of Yao's foot. With the beating his body has taken both from other players and from his sheer size, asking how much more he has left is a feasible question. Yao has a player option after this year, meaning he could terminate his deal and become an unrestricted free-agent. This is doubtful, though. Yao appears happy in Houston, with an offense run entirely through him. Even so, it's yet another worry for the Rockets front office.

Whether Houston becomes a championship contender remains to be seen. The west is very good right now, and only getting better with the influx of the Oklahoma City Thunder and resurgence of Dallas. Morey was in a great spot to go out and get a premier talent this summer had he held off on the McGrady deal. Picking up a player like David Lee or a stopper like Matt Barnes would have served this team far better than Martin, who will be on the books through 2013. Signing Barnes to a likely one-year deal would provide Morey the financial flexibility to once again be aggressive in 2011, while the combination of Lee, Scola and Yao would be remarkable in the frontcourt, and provide an opportunity to get more value for Landry if a trade was necessary.

Simply put, both Barnes and Lee are better fits than Martin. Barnes is a defensive wizard also capable of hitting the three. He is a tough player who could essentially replace the aging Shane Battier and help Trevor Ariza on the perimeter at both ends of the floor. While Martin is said to be a bit of a locker room issue, Barnes is the injection of grit Houston has lacked since Artest left. Most importantly, you could get Barnes for half the price. Lee is having his best season yet, averaging 20 and 12 in New York, proving to be a relentless rebounder and reliable passing threat with nearly four assists per game. That would compliment Yao very well, who is also a terrific passer out of both the double-team and the high post.

The bottom line is that Kevin Martin is a nice piece to the puzzle when you already have most of the puzzle filled, but adding a fragile scorer as your No. 2 option is not the right move. If you couldn't win with McGrady during his prime (hands down better than a 27-year-old Martin), than you won't win now. Morey should have spent his money the right way on the talent available this summer as the market embarks on the ultimate apex of free agency.

As alluded to, the Rockets have a nice pod of players moving forward in Yao (assuming he stays), Brooks, Scola, Martin, Hill, and the two No. 1 draft picks (2011 and 2012) they got from New York in the three-team trade with the Kings. But when you're in a conference featuring Kobe and the Lakers, Melo and the Nuggets, Durant and the Thunder, along with Dirk and the Mavs, this is just not a team that scares anybody in the west.

The old sayings that "patience is a virtue" and "good things come to those who wait" are both trite and repetitive, but I can't think of a better time than now to use them.