BIG NEWS!

I have decided that I would be better off writing a blog about the NBA in general, instead of focusing on just one team. So I will no longer be blogging at Motown Ballin. However, I will still be at blogger. My new blog is called Nick and Roll, so hopefully I will see you all there.

It's panic time

Well, I can't say this loss wasn't expected. Even without making a deal at the deadline, the Spurs are still at top 3 team in the NBA. That's right, one spot ahead of the Cavs. Tim Duncan was his usual robotic self, going for 18 and 18, but the thing that always catches me off guard is how good Tony Parker is. He had 19 points, 11 assists, and 5 rebounds. He should at least be in the conversation for the third best point guard in the League behind CP3 and Deron Williams. I would put him up there with Nash and Billups

Both teams showed up defensively last night, as each was held to about 40% shooting. Iverson was hot with 31 points, but he couldn't hit a 3-pointer at the end of the game, when he had two tries. That really kind of makes him useless at the end of close games. Most refs will swallow their whistle at the end, and teams won't let AI drive in and make an easy 2. He is only a 31% shooter from 3. He needs to work on his range

The Spurs unveiled a new secret weapon last night. Matt Bonner killed us, going 5-8 from downtown. Not bad for a center.

We played the Spurs close in basically every facet of the game, with the exception of perimeter shooting. I think the real reason we lost is because our most important scorer, Rip, never got into sync, going 2-10 from the floor. This is not coincidence. This is Bruce Bowen. We are not that great of a team at creating our own shots, so Bowen can seek and destroy.

Hopefully, the Pistons to get something out of this loss. I am not kidding about panic mode. We are now 1 game above .500. We need to make some changes. Perhaps move Rip into the starting lineup again, because Stuckey is really not playing very well lately. If we had won this game, everybody would have talked about how it righted the ship, but now we know for sure that we have major problems.

Also here is a quick review of the Bucks game from Tuesday:

We got off to a bad start, trailing 29-17 at the end of the first. Most of this was Richard Jefferson, who finished with 29 points on only 13 shots. Iverson, Stuckey, and Rip weren't shooting well (a combined 12-38), so we had to rely on McDyess to score. He did, getting 24 points and 14 boards, and we started to come back. But we were stymied by Milwaukee's defense all night. Sessions played well against us again, scoring 17, with 9 rebounds and 7 assists

Trade Deadline!

Once again, I apologize I did not write a review for the Bucks game. I had to write a 4 page english paper, so I was kinda busy. I will try to include it with my game review of tonight's Spurs game.

Anyways, today is the trade deadline. I will try to keep this updated to the closest as humanly possible. Some very interesting deals have already gone down. Let's back things up to Monday.

I did not know this but a Pistons trade went down on Monday. Nothing big but still, I don't know I haven't heard about this. Alex Acker was sent back to California, the L.A. Clippers, for a 2011 second round pick and a conditional 2013 second round pick. Maybe he will get a chance to play over there

On Tuesday, I announced that Tyson Chandler would be traded to OKC for Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox. No Dice! Apparently, Chandler has a messed up toe. Now, this is gonna create a really awkward situation for everyone involved.

Boston traded Sam I Am Cassell to the Kings for a 2015 second round draft pick. Yes, 2015, the same year Sam Cassell will turn 60.

The biggest trade so far went down last night. The Bulls dealt Drew Gooden, Andres Nocioni, Michael Ruffin, and Cedric Simmons to the Kings for John Salmons and B-Rad Miller. The Kings immediately released Sam Cassell and then pulled off a steal in acquiring Ike Diogu from the Blazers for Michael Ruffin. This trade doesn't really seem like it will help the Bulls all that much. Miller doesn't play much defense, so I don't see him making much of an impact. The Kings get three nice players out of this deal in Gooden, a good rebounder, Nocioni, a tough defender, and Diogu, a decent post player. Plus, they can now let Spencer Hawes develop

Chris Mihm got shipped to the Grizz for a draft pick. Apparently the Lakers were protecting their superstar player, D.J. Mbenga

Sources from ESPN are saying that the Kings will send Shelden Williams and Bobby Brown to the Timberwolves for Calvin Booth and Rashad McCants. Sources from Motown Ballin are saying whoopdee freakin doo.

Yahoo has a small blurb that says an Eastern Conference official is saying that the Bulls have dealt Larry Hughes to the Knicks for Jerome James and Tim Thomas. I believe that Hughes still has some game left. I like this trade for the Knicks. Jerome James is a walking example of buyer's remorse.

Chris Wilcox has been traded after all. He will be headed to the Knicks in exchange for Malik Rose. Wilcox and Lee should be fun to watch

The best news I've heard all frickin day, at least for a Rockets fan like myself. The Rockets have traded Rafer "Skip to my Lou" Alston to the Magic. The Magic will send a first round pick to the Grizz, and the Rockets will receive Kyle Lowry and Brian Cook. I don't really like Cook or Lowry that much, but Rafer getting exiled is just awesome. Plus, now Aaron Brooks gets his shot.

Weekly Preview

As promised, I am going to change the format of my current game previews. Instead of setting up the chart for each game, which can get a bit boring, I am going to start previewing the week ahead. Although today is Tuesday, I am going to try to take care of the previews on Sunday or Monday starting next week. Also, I apologize again about my lack of posting. After my vacation, I think I have a cold now, so hopefully that won't stop any further blogging. But anyways, lets get down to business

Tuesday Feb. 17th vs. Milwaukee

Well, last time we played the Bucks, it turned into an overtime fiasco. We are better off after that game because now we know that Ramon Sessions must be stopped. The Bucks still have a ton of injuries, so once again, they shouldn't give us a whole lot of trouble. Plus, they may be distracted by the Richard Jefferson trade talks. All in all, I like us to score a little less than the last time we met, but win by 17 points after getting a bunch of rest

Thursday Feb. 19th vs. San Antonio

This is gonna be tough. As of right now, these guys are my pick to win the title. They just showed how good they can be by getting a W over Boston. We should be able to hang with them though, as now we have both Manu and Rip going at it off the bench. This is going to tell us a lot about whether or not we can contend. Whatever we do, just don't let Roger Mason get open in the corner. I do not like us to win this game, but I really think we can stay close. I have us losing by 5.


As for other news, the NBA is full of ridiculous trade talks. However, I haven't yet seen the newest NBA commercial showing a picture of Raef LaFrentz "The NBA: Where expiring contracts happen."

As previously mentioned, The Matrix is now a Dnosaur, and if said Dinosaurs do not trade Chris Bosh, they are not only a threat to make the playoffs, but will be very dangerous when they get there. I picked them to win the East this season. I still think they are very capable of doing that.

Now, the Thunder have acquired Tyson Chandler. He has been awful this year, but when he gets healthy, the Thunder will start beating playoff teams. The Hornets received Joe Smith and Chris "Ill Wil" Wilcox. Sorry my nicknames are terrible. This trade really benefits both teams.

Also, the Nets and Rockets are currently trying to work out a deal that would send Vince Carter to the Rockets. As a fan of the them, I'm not sure of whether or not to support this.

Sorry

I apologize for my lack of posting lately. First off, I am going to do away with the daily game previews. Instead, I will do a preview at the beginning of each week. Also, I am currently trying to move my blog to a different site. I think I will be blogging at mysportspen.com, but only time will tell. However, I am going on my own All-Star Break to Mt. Pleasant, and unless there is a computer at my hotel, I will not be able to post until Monday.

The big news as of late has been the Marion-O'Neal trade. Honestly, I think this makes the Heat worse. O'Neal isn't capable of doing much anymore, and he is constantly on the fritz. On the other hand, I love this move by the Raptors. I wouldn't be surprised if they start to make a playoff push right now.

For now, let us root for AI in the All-Star Game that he should not be in.

Choke!

Going into last night's game, I thought we had a good shot at winning. Those odds increased to me when Iverson decided he had the flu and couldn't play. For three quarters, we played well as a team, with Rip filling in Iverson's role nicely. We were keeping pace with the Baby Bulls. Heading into the fourth, we had a nice 12 point lead, figuring we could coast off of the momentum Rasheed had just built (He scored 15 in the 3rd.) Then Tyrus Thomas started blocking shots and grabbing impossible rebounds, Andres Nocioni started driving through a barren, deserted lane, and Ben Gordon started knocking down impossible shots.

When the dust cleared, we lost by 5, 102-107. What a debacle! The Pistons should be ashamed of the way they defended late in the game, but luck also had a lot to do with the Bulls win. They got some questionable foul calls down the stretch. Nonetheless, the Bulls played like a team that should be in the playoffs. There two young big men were impressive. Tyrus Thomas had 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Joakim Noah had 12 and 16 rebounds. Noah isn't exactly built like a tank. Someone besides Sheed and Tay needs to start grabbing more boards.

We outshot the Bulls, but they grabbed enough offensive boards to make it not matter, 18 in fact. Derrick Rose was 10-15 from the field, and now he already looks like a better player than Stuckey. Rip was hot again last night, going 11-21 for 30 points, and he also had 8 assists. Rasheed had 20 and Stuck and Tay both had 16. We got sucked into playing to fast, and we lost control near the end of the game. We have just got to slow things down.

Game 50 Preview

PG: At this point in their careers, this matchup is just about even. By next year, Rose will dominate

Advantage: Draw

SG: As long as Gordon get hot, we should take this matchup. AI isn't exactly Bruce Bowen though

Advantage: Pistons

SF: Here is another close matchup. Deng is the better shooter, but Prince is way better defensively. I don't know why the Bulls are so hesitant to give up Deng

Advantage: Pistons

PF: These two guys play a similar style of ball. Both are very athletic. Right now, Tyrus is better defensively

Advantage: Bulls

C: I really don't think Joakim Noah should be a center, at least not right now. Sheed should take advantage of him all night

Advantage: Pistons

Overall: In their last 6 games, the Bulls have won 4. In the two losses, they have lost by a combined 8 points against the Mavs and Rockets. Now they are well rested, not playing since Saturday. We could be in trouble. However, we beat them by 6 last time we played and Stuckey had 40 points. I would be surprised if he scored 25 points tonight, but I think the Pistons will escape with a 5 point win