I thought there was a pretty nice weekend of games. I got home from dinner at the cousins Saturday night in time to watch the closing minutes of the Clippers-Mavs game where Stackhouse nailed the 3 at the buzzer. And I loved the Clips announcer Ralph Lawler sounding like a crybaby, saying the Mavs were celebrating like they won a championship. Hey asshole, they had someone hit a game winning 3 at the buzzer. That's not exciting? They aren't supposed to celebrate? I'm sure if the Clippers, a last place team going nowhere, had done that they wouldn't be celebrating, right?

Yesterday, GREAT game in Toronto against the Blazers. Just unbelievable, that Blazers team. Outlaw hit a prayer to send it into OT, then Roy hits another prayer to send it to 2OT. Also watched some of the Pacers-Warriors game later which was a great game too

And Friday- some huge games all around. Gasol & Bosh each go for 40, Bryant for 37, plus some huge rebounding games and 19 assists from Baron Davis.

Great weekend.

Gasol has been unbelievable lately. SOmething like 21 pts, 18 rebs, 8 asts, 4 blks yesterday against LA. Conley is also looking like he could be really good.

The Blazers seem for real. I think they will be in the playoffs this year.

The Warriors are like they were last year, dangerous enough to beat anybody, inconsistent enough to get blown out by anybody.

As long as Bynum's injury isnt too serious, I think LA is a top 3 or 4 team in the West. I think they would beat Phoenix in a 7 game series now.

And just cuz its funny... the damn Knicks beat Detroit 89-65. As Sportcenter said "Wait.. the who.. did what.. to WHO?"

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Yeah, that was a shocker for sure...I usually watch NBA TV when I'm getting ready for work, and at the time I'm up I usually catch the tail end of the replay of the previous nights game. When I turned it on this morning and saw the Knicks up by 20 in the 4th, I wasn't sure if I was still sawing logs or not

How's 8 weeks sound?

Devastating....

Andrew Bynum, a key factor in the Los Angeles Lakers' 25-11 start to the season, will miss eight weeks with what his agent says is a subluxation of his left kneecap.

David Lee told ESPN The Magazine's Sam Alipour that Bynum will not need surgery. Bynum, who had an MRI on Monday, will begin rehabiliation immediately, Lee said.

"He's already focusing on his rehab," Lee said Monday. "We're going to knock these eight weeks down

Bynum injured his knee early in the third quarter of Sunday night's 100-99 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. A subluxation occurs when the kneecap is pulled toward the outside of the knee.

Some fun games last night, with huge nights from Camby, Kobe, Kevin Martin, Gerald Wallace, and the Wizards(Beat the Celtics twice in the last week now). LAL/SEA sounded like it was a fun game. Lakers meanwhile now are tied for the best record in the Western conference.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Unbelievable this guy can come back after missing over a month, step right in and shoot 14-16 and drop 39

Yeah Sacramento seems to be not too bad. They would probably be in the playoff mix in the East. They need to get Artest back ASAP so they can move him and bibby, they got some good players in Salmons, Udrih, and Kmart. Brad Miller is also playing good ball lately.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Yeah you're right, they're not in a bad position. I'm sure someone will take Bibby off their hands (might not be a bad fit for Atlanta) and Artest I think has a lot of value too. That young core really developed with Bibby, Artest & Martin out. Plus I was certainly skeptical of the large extension they gave Martin but he's really bringing it this year. They also really lucked into Udrih, can't believe someone like Boston didn't snap him up

Chris Webber, your phone is ringing.....(just a prediction)

Yeah, I think Webber is going to land in LA too

I can't believe with 24 reb and 11 blocks, Camby missed a triple double by 2 points

If you are basing MVP votes on impacting team performance, I suggest one name (there is no way he wins I know....just referring to impacting the team)

Anderson Varjeao - Team is 12-6 since he got paid. He's averaging 9 and 9 a night and give the Cavs high enegry minutes. Before he came back, the Cavs were floudering at 9-12. Since then they are now moving up to the tied for 5th in the conference. Before he came back they were in 11th.

I cant believe people arent paying more attention to this guy. His timing is just unbelieveable. 2nd time with double digit blocks this season. A virtual lock for DPOY again barring injury.



Stephen Jackson had a very similar impact in GS, so its not a bad theory. The MVP race overall could get pretty intriguing down the stretch. Right now I would probably have Chris Paul at #1, but you can make an argument for several different guys.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

My top 5 for MVP are

1. Kobe - He's put the trade behind him and carried the lakers.
2. KG - Double, double, best record in the league - really the glue that brought the C's together. The consummate pro
3. CP3 - If not for him New Orleans would be lucky to be winning 1 out of every 5 games
4. Dwight Howard - I'm still shocked the Magic aren't better with the young fella domainating opponents.
5. LeBron - numbers are great, teams record isnt

1. Agreed, but we'll say how they do without Bynum
2. Disagree...numbers are down overall. Obviously that'll be the case with sharing with the other 2 stars but I still would pass on him as MVP
3. Agree. Just dominating and really leading that team
4. Agree. I think they're one of the teams that could really use Andre Miller (or even Cassell for that matter), need some more consistant PG play
5. No doubt

In regard to the Varejao argument, someone who I would pick in that vein would be Brandan Roy

While we're at it, what about ROY?

I'm sure Durant will get just because of the volume of numbers, but I'm pushing hard for my man Al Horford.

ROY: Durant gets it based on sheer volume, but I think Horford and Moon make good cases as well. Don't be surprised to see Yi in top 3 by end of the year.


Now what about 6th man? Ginobli is probably the front runner though he plays as many minutes as a starter.

Ben Gordon?

Yeah, probably Ginoboli but I agree that's kind of bogus since he's essentially a starter

Two of my top picks: Travis Outlaw and Josh Childress

Agreed. I thought it was gonna be Terry after November, but hes started alot and also dropped off alot since then.

top 5 MVP for me is

1. Chris Paul
2. Kobe
3. LeBron
4. KG
5. Marcus Camby

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

You really like Camby, eh?

Having a great season, no doubt. Seems like injuries have always been the holdup from him really breaking out. It's really a good fit for him on that Denver team

Travis Outlaw is in his redshirt senior year of college - well, 5th year in the NBA. He's shown flashes before this year and FINALLY, put it together. He's having a very good season. Interesting to look at one of the last classes of high schoolers.

He's one of those cases that shows these high school kids for the most part take 3-5 years to really develop.

Sebastain Telfair is doing the same thing in Minnesota.

I've said it before- Telfair has an incredible floor game, he just needs to develop a mid-range jumper. Teams totally sag on him all day because he isn't going to shoot it. He's had a few big scoring games but for the most part does not. He's so smooth and has such great vision, I could see him being a top tier PG in the league, seriously.

I agree, but like you said until you can shoot much better than 38% from the floor, you'll never be a respectable starter in the league. He'll get the chance to do it in Minnesota since they are not expecting to win for the next year, two or three. And he's much better than Jaric.

Yeah, I never liked Jaric at all. I wish he'd just go away

The thing Jaric gives a team is size. He's a big guard (6'7" 220) that is capable of running the point. He's never been a great shooter but can hit the 3 (career 34% from behind the arc.) I'm not a fan either but I can see the value of a Jaric - 8th of 9th man, can play both guard slots (and occasionally the 3), give you 7-8 points off the bench and a handful of assists.

Yeah Ive said before I think hes one of the most underrated players in the NBA of the past 10-15 years. Hes the best player on Denver, but people dont seem to realize it. I think hes better right now than Ben Wallace's best year in his prime.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

A healthy Sacramento team would probably be in the next group of teams after Boston and Detroit.

Camby still misses the occasional game, but I think he's held up a little better of late, and he's a great fit in Denver. He doesn't have to worry about doing anything other than protecting the basket, and getting rebounds.

I'm not very high on Telfair - I agree he's got talent, but I question if he's a floor leader as well as his shot selection - he doesn't shoot a high %, and I've seen him struggle to finish drives to the basket as well. He's still young so it's too early to write him off, but I don't know that he'll continue getting the playing time he's currently getting in Minnesota with Randy Foye on the mend.

I've had Jaric on my fantasy team this season at times, and it's a league that has him listed as a Forward....It's also a league that gives extra points for assists, so, needless to say, when he's gotten playing time, he's posted some decent numbers for my team.