Man, how long can the Mavericks keep on winning?

The last time we took notice of the Mavericks’ ridiculous winning streak this 2010 NBA basketball season was five days ago, when they were going after their 9^th straight win and remain the hottest team in the league at this point of the year.

The Dallas Mavericks were up against the Minnesota Timberwolves then and, to nobody’s surprise really, they got their 9^th straight victory. Five days later, the Mavericks are still winning and we’re picking them up right now as these guys go for their 12^th straight win.

What’s funny is the fact that we’re picking up the Mavericks just before they kick the living daylights out of the Minnesota Timberwolves again. Yup, for some reason, the Wolves find themselves right in the middle of this freight train’s tracks, for the second time in five days. Ouch.

With wins over the Suns, the Magic, the Heat, the Pacers, the Lakers, the Hawks, the Hornets, the Bobcats, the Wolves, the Kings and just recently, the Bulls, the Mavericks” 11-game winning streak is now arguably the best any team has accomplished this season. They are playing like the best team in basketball right now. Don’t believe me? Just ask the Bulls.

In the Mavericks’ win over the Chicago Bulls, shades of that 2006…

Read More » Mavericks looking for 12th straight win on Monday

With the year he’s been having, I’d definitely say so.

The 2010 NBA basketball season hasn’t been kind to Allen Iverson, once one of the league’s brightest stars. Heck, this season has been that tough for him that he already retired this season only to come back after his old team, the Philadelphia 76ers, gave him a second lease in life.

Now, everything is being taken away from Allen Iverson again, as he was forced to put what’s left of his basketball career on hold to attend to his four-year-old daughter Messiah, who is reportedly suffering from an undisclosed illness.

Wow. You really can’t help but feel sorry for Iverson. For a guy who once led the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA Finals and won numerous scoring titles with, including league MVP honors, going out this way is definitely a tough pill to swallow.

Just look at what A.I. has been through this year. First he signs a one-year deal with the Memphis Grizzlies looking to redeem himself after such a disastrous outing with Detroit last season. After only three games in Memphis, Iverson wanted out after he figured that he wasn’t on the same page with the team’s direction.

That led to Iverson announcing his retirement last November 25.

Then, his old team, the Philadelphia 76ers, gave him a second lease in life. And after a very emotional press conference, Iverson was back playing again for the very team that drafted him to the NBA.

Well, that lasted for 25 games. On February 22, Iverson took an indefinite leave to attend to his four-year-old daughter who was suffering from an undisclosed sickness. That forced the 76ers to announce that Iverson won’t be returning to the team for the remainder of the 2010 season.

”After discussing the situation with Allen, we have come to the conclusion…”

Read More » Is it time for Allen Iverson to finally retire?

Yep, that’s a huge seven-foot boo-boo if you’re a Cavs fan hoping to see your team in the NBA Finals and win one game for a change.

And in case you didn’t get that, Shaquille O’Neal will likely miss the remainder of the 2010 NBA basketball season following surgery on his right thumb after Glen Davis hacked on it in a game between the Cavaliers and the Celtics.

With Shaquille O’Neal out of commission, the Cleveland Cavaliers lose that presence inside. Of course, they can hope Antawn Jamison and blossoming forward J.J. Hickson can fill the void.

But let’s face it, nobody can attract that much attention inside the paint the way Shaq does and with him out, it’ll be awfully hard for LeBron James to find those easy baskets around the perimeter.

The last time the Cleveland Cavaliers were in the playoffs, they were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals by the Orlando Magic. The Cavs signed Shaq before the season in preparation for a possible rematch with Orlando in the postseason.

Now, they’re in trouble of getting booted out of the…

Read More » Shaq out for the season, what will the Cavaliers do now?

LeBron James finally got what he wanted.

Once were done with the 2010 NBA basketball season, LeBron James will be wearing no.6 for his next campaign. That’s right, he finally made the bold decision of switching his jersey number from number 23 to number 6 official.

The Cleveland Cavaliers superstar just beat the deadline and is dead serious in honoring Michael Jordan. ”I’ve done it,” LeBron James said in an interview. ”I already sent it in. I’m going to be No. 6.” James first floated the idea in November, saying he wanted to switch from 23 out of respect for Jordan.

”I just think what Michael Jordan has done for the game has to be recognized some way soon,” LeBron James said. ”There would be no LeBron James, no Kobe Bryant, no Dwyane Wade if there wasn’t Michael Jordan first.”

”He can’t get the logo, and if he can’t, something has to be done. I feel like no NBA player should wear 23. I’m starting a petition, and I’ve got to get everyone in the NBA to sign it. Now, if I’m not going to wear No. 23, then nobody else should be able to wear it.” he said.

James would wear 6, the number he wore while leading the U.S. to Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008. He has worn it in Cavs practices over the past two years. But it has other special qualities to him.

”My second-favorite player was Julius Erving, and he wore No. 6,” James said. ”I wore 32 in high school because Dr. J wore it at first. My first child was born on Oct. 6, it’s my Olympic number, my second child was born in June.”

The last big-name player to change numbers without changing teams was…

Read More » LeBron James will wear No.6 next season, but for who?

How stupid can one team get?

Time and time again, Gilbert Arenas has been an utter nuisance to the Wizards ever since he got that ridiculously expensive contract Washington was more than willing to ”award” him. Well, everything was fine and dandy in Washington then, unlike the mess they are in right now at this point of the 2010 NBA basketball season.

After trading Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood, core pieces of what was once a playoff team, the Washington Wizards are off to rebuild again that will include one familiar name, Agent Zero.

You read it, despite all the shit Gilbert Arenas put the entire Wizards through this year, he will remain with the team until the godforsaken organization wakes up. In case you haven’t heard, Arenas has been suspended for the remainder of the season after bringing guns to the locker room in December during a dispute with Javaris Crittenton. Arenas will be sentenced on March 26 for a felony gun possession charge, but he is still under contract for the next four years at $80 million.

Grunfeld said the most likely option for the Wizards is not a trade, a buyout or contract termination but rather Arenas’ return.

”Gilbert is still one of the top players in this league. He’s under…”

Read More » Wizards still betting everything on Gilbert Arenas

We’ll find out soon enough.

After failing to acquire another legitimate player to help Dwyane Wade before the trading deadline expired in the 2010 NBA basketball season, the Miami Heat should consider going to their initial plan of getting a free agent in the offseason.

While the New York Knicks, the Chicago Bulls, the Washington Wizards, the L.A. Clippers, and the Sacramento Kings made a surplus of combined trades to give them major cap relief after the season, the Miami Heat were caught on the sidelines watching their advantage fade away.

Chicago and New York were already expected to make a run for Dwyane Wade, but now they can offer him the chance to possibly play alongside LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Amar’e Stoudemire, or Joe Johnson.

”You pay attention and notice what’s going on around the league because you’re a player in this league, and there’s also a business factor,” Dwyane Wade said of teams looking to join the summer sweepstakes.

”But no team is more important than the team you play for, and seeing your team put itself in position to win at a high level for a long time.”

A Chicago Bulls tandem with Derrick Rose or any of those names would have to be enticing for Wade. If Miami isn’t able to convince him the team will contend next year, the Chicago native would have a hard time saying no to a Bulls offer like that.

Same goes for New York. Would Wade really pass up the chance to…

Read More » Will Dwyane Wade stay with the Miami Heat?

Well, they have to. Better yet, they NEED to.

At 30-31, the Miami Heat really don’t have that much going for them this 2010 NBA basketball season. Now, if this was a couple of years ago, I’d be the first guy to point out how bad this season has been for Miami. But surprisingly, I learned to like D-Wade, and right now, I can’t help but feel sorry for the guy.

You see, Dwyane Wade went through the exact same thing last year, when his team was underachieving, still looking to find them pieces to make the team talented enough to go for a championship again.

Thankfully, D-Wade made last season’s campaign worthwhile for Miami Heat fans despite such a disappointing record. Remember that game-winning three-pointer Wade got at the buzzer to beat the Bulls in double overtime? Yeah, that one sent the entire American Airlines Arena into a frenzy with D-Wade standing on a courtside table pointing to the ”El Heat” insignia on his jersey reminding Heat fans that this was his house. That was one of three rousing home wins in a five-day span, including a triple overtime thriller against the Utah Jazz with D-Wade scoring FIFTY.

Well, THAT was last year, when they had spectacular and memorable…

Read More » Can Miami put the Heat on the big bad LA Lakers?

Ah yes, the Mavericks.

In case you haven’t noticed it yet, the Dallas Mavericks have crept up on us all this 2010 NBA basketball season with almost everyone going ga-ga over teams like the Cavaliers, the Lakers and this ridiculous feud between Shaq and Dwight Howard.

While the rest of the league are too preoccupied with anything that has something to do with LeBron, Kobe and what not, the Dallas Mavericks have slowly but surely taken over the league, winning eight games straight to post the second best record in the West and become the hottest team in the NBA at this point of the season.

Led by Dirk Nowitzki, averaging 25.2 points a game, the Mavericks improved to 40-21, good for the second seed in the Western Conference if the 2010 NBA playoffs started today. On Wednesday, they have the Minnesota Timberwolves, a team that lost nine of its last ten games.

It shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why you should stay the hell away from the Minnesota Timberwolves on this one.

How did the Mavericks come up with this league-best eight-game winning streak at this point of the year? Simple. They’re giving Nowitzki more touches and he’s cashing in on those opportunities too.

Nowitzki has been scoring over 30 points for three games straight…

Read More » Mavericks looking to win 9th straight on Wednesday

Luckily, these guys know exactly what to do with him.

With the overall no.2 draft pick, the Memphis Grizzlies selected Hasheem Thabeet for the 2010 NBA basketball season. Unfortunately for him, things are not doing so well as far as his rookie year in Memphis is concerned.

You read it, Hasheem Thabeet has been, well, a letdown if you will considering that he was the overall no.2 draft pick in last year’s draft. You know who else was selected that high and turned out to be a disappointment? Darko Milicic. Only God knows where this dude is playing in now.

As for the Memphis Grizzlies, they don’t want to waste a talent like Thabeet. That’s why they’re sending him over to the NBA D-League in hopes of polishing his talents further for a brighter NBA career ahead.

If only Darko was given the same second lease in life.

Thabeet, 23, is averaging just 2.5 points and 2.9 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game for the Grizzlies. With this move, the Grizzlies will most likely add a late-season free agent. Several players are rumored to be negotiating buyouts, for instance Larry Hughes that could fill a gap for the Grizzlies until Ronnie Brewer’s return.

Hopefully going to the NBA D-League will teach Thabeet that if you can touch the top of the backboard, there’s no need to try to block a shot at the other player’s hands below the rim. Hopefully he’ll learn how to cut through the back-door, and, more importantly, defend against cutters.

Hopefully, and more importantly at that, it will teach him how to…

Read More » Oh crap, looks like the Memphis Grizzlies drafted the league’s new Darko Milicic back in last year’s NBA Draft

Shaq’s out so Dwight should be the choice, for now.

After both Dwight Howard and Shaquille O’Neal got into some sort of a squabble this 2010 NBA basketball season about who is the real Superman in this league, we figured to compare both guys since both we’re drafted by the Orlando Magic to the NBA as the no.1 overall draft pick.

From the time when Dwight Howard was drafted first overall by the Orlando Magic, the comparisons to Shaquille O’Neal began as O’Neal was also selected 1st overall by the Magic. Howard has long been considered the next great ‘big man’ to enter the NBA, and many feel that given the changes in style of play in the league over the last few years, he may be one of the last of his kind.

Howard uses more of a combination of speed and strength to dominate the offensive paint, compared to Shaquille O’Neal who had better post moves that gave him the illusion of being quick. Shaq has brute force, plus some good footwork. One can assume that’s one of the secrets that let O’Neal to stay in the league this long. Even with declining athleticism, he still has the weight and strength behind him, and still has the footwork

The comparisons between Dwight Howard and Shaquille O’Neal are moving beyond their playing style too.

Both Howard and Shaq led the league in rebounds. Howard leads the league in dunks for the Orlando Magic this year while O’Neal did the same thing during the 94-95 season. Both players are entertainers and comedians off the court but have shown they mean business on the court. Howard and Shaq also both love to dance, for crying out loud.

Shaq has always been referred to as ”Superman,” but after Howard donned the cape in a slam dunk contest two years ago, that ”Superman” moniker started to tag Howard.

And in case you didn’t know, Howard has recently been…

Read More » Dwight Howard or Shaquille O’Neal? Who is Superman?