Kevin Pritchard, the general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers, has been fired.

After spending six seasons with the Blazers, it ended months of speculation that he had fallen out of favor with billionaire owner Paul Allen. And in case you haven’t figured it out yet, no, he won’t be running the show in Portland once the 2010 NBA basketball season kicks off.

“This process was more public and took longer than any of us would have liked, but that was indicative of how critical a decision this was for the franchise,” Allen said in a statement. “We want to thank and acknowledge Kevin for his solid work in getting us to where we are today. Parting ways with a popular general manager is not something we take lightly. In the end, we decided to make a change.”

Portland Trail Blazers president Larry Miller said Pritchard met with Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft and owner of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and Miller would not specify why Pritchard was let go. Pritchard is under contract through next season and the Blazers will honor his contract. A search firm had earlier been hired to vet candidates for the job.

A rumored possible replacement, Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti, recently denied that he had been contacted about the job. Miller said Denver Nuggets executive Mark Warkentien, also said to be interested, was not being considered.

Kevin Pritchard joined the Blazers as director of player personnel in

Ah, the Western Conference. Some people still say this is where it’s at.

And with good reason too because in the West, it doesn’t matter what seed you are because any one of these Western Conference teams can go on and win the NBA championship. In the 2010 NBA playoffs, it’s more or less the same story.

Heck, Kevin Durant, the youngest player ever to win the scoring title this season, will be playing from the no.8 seed with the rest of the Oklahoma City Thunder. You see, these guys could go on and advance to, probably the second round of the playoffs. The problem is, they will be on a head-on collision with the no.1 seed Los Angeles Lakers.

That’s right, it’s the defending champions for the Oklahoma City Thunder. That’s probably why NOBODY expects them to get past the Lakers in the first round other than them Thunder players and their mommas.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for Kevin Durant and the season he had but when you pit him against Kobe Bryant? They don’t call him the Black Mamba for nothing.

The no.2 seed Dallas Mavericks take on the no.7 seed San Antonio Spurs…

As expected the Western Conference is having a dogfight for playoff positioning.

With merely days before the 2010 NBA playoffs get here, the Dallas Mavericks, the Denver Nuggets, the Utah Jazz and the Phoenix Suns are all battling for control of the 2nd through 4th seeds, each of which come with home-court advantage in the first round.

The only team that knows which seed will they be at are the defending NBA world champions Los Angeles Lakers, taking the number one spot in the Western Conference for the third straight year.

The San Antonio Spurs, the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Portland Trail Blazers could end up as the no.8 seed to face the Lakers and unfortunately for Laker fans, all three teams can upset this Lakers team that has been struggling recently. As for now, San Antonio, Oklahoma and Portland will continue to fight for playoff positioning as the no.6, no.7 and no.8 seeds are still up for grabs.

So which of these three teams should the Lakers hope they won’t have to face in the first round? That’s easy. That team would definitely have to be the San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs are currently in the seventh spot and has a tough final day schedule when they face the surging Dallas Mavericks. If they lose they would most likely end up in the eight spot and play Kobe Bryant and his Lakers.

Facing the Lakers in the first round is not an easy task for Greg Popovich and the rest of the Spurs team. But they are a veteran team composed of Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and the ever reliable Tim Duncan. They all know how to play in the playoffs. And with the addition of Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess, they can shock and beat the Lakers in the first round.

Hell, this Spurs team has been clicking at the right time…

Yep, that’s how fast this guy has been improving lately.

With the Oklahoma City Thunder surprising a lot of people this 2010 NBA basketball season, their main man, that’s Kevin Durant, is being included in the discussion for MVP honors this year. You read it, he’s right up there this year with the LeBrons, Kobes and Dwyane Wades. So how special has this guy been? Can he really take the MVP away from the more established players in the league today?

Listed at 6-foot-9 but closer to 6-11 according to those who try to defend him, Kevin Durant is doing it all for his team this season. He leads his team in scoring, rebounding and minutes (39.9). He has improved defensively while also increasing his scoring average, third best in the NBA, by four points over last season and by nine over his rookie season. His field goal percentage is up to 48.1 percent, better than last season’s 47.6 and well above the 43.0 percent he shot two years ago.

But perhaps the most impressive stat is that the Oklahoma City Thunder is posting a winning record so far. So good in fact that if the playoffs started today, the Thunder could enjoy homecourt advantage in the first round of the postseason.

Opposing players know that it is Durant’s combination of height, frame and extraordinary wingspan that makes him so rare in the game and a nightmare to defend. ”His capability of taking the ball off the dribble is very 2-guard-like, and getting to the rim,” Lamar Odom said. ”And, of course, he can get his shot over anybody. His jump shot, his step-back, it’s something you don’t really see.”

The closest comparison most make of Durant to anyone who has…

We already know who are the starters, now it’s time to familiarize ourselves with the reserves.

The 2010 NBA All-Star Game is just around the corner as the NBA’s midseason classic will officially shift the attention to hoops with football season officially over. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade lead the East as they take on Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony of the West.

As far as the reserves are concerned, we have a few first-timers. Four first-timers come from the Eastern Conference; Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford, Charlotte Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace and 2009 Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls.

Completing the East reserves are Toronto’s Chris Bosh, Atlanta’s Joe Johnson and Boston’s Paul Pierce.

Rondo is the second All-Star from the Draft class of 2006, joining the Blazers’ Brandon Roy, who earned his third All-Star selection this year. Horford joins the Thunder’s Kevin Durant as the first All-Stars from the Draft class of 2007 while Rose is all alone as the first All-Star from the class of 2008.

Derrick Rose will have a very busy weekend in Dallas. He and his fellow sophomores will take on the rookies in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam on All-Star Friday and as the reigning PlayStation Skills Challenge champion, he’ll likely defend his title on All-Star Saturday.

Another first-timer on the East is Charlotte’s Gerald Wallace. With…

Odds to win 2010 Western Conference 
All wagers have action. The team that wins the conference final in the playoffs will be graded the winner. (This Prop is Closed for Betting)

Competitor
Price

Dallas Mavericks

15.00    

Denver Nuggets
[...]

Odds to win 2010 NBA Championship 

Competitor
Price

Atlanta Hawks
46.00    

Boston Celtics
5.00

Charlotte Bobcats
101.00 

Chicago Bulls
46.00    

Cleveland Cavaliers
4.33

Dallas Mavericks
31.00 

Denver Nuggets
16.00

Detroit Pistons
46.00   

Golden State Warriors
126.00 

Houston Rockets
51.00 

Indiana Pacers
101.00

Los Angeles Clippers
91.00

Los Angeles Lakers
3.00 

Memphis Grizzlies
101.00

Miami Heat
46.00

Milwaukee Bucks
51.00 

Minnesota Timberwolves
151.00

New Jersey Nets
101.00   

New Orleans Hornets
36.00

New York Knicks
76.00

Oklahoma City Thunder
101.00 

Orlando Magic
9.00

Philadelphia 76ers
66.00

Phoenix Suns
61.00  

Portland Trailblazers
21.00 

Sacramento Kings
151.00

San Antonio Spurs
8.50

Toronto Raptors [...]

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Northwest Division

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Central Division

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Pacific Division

Phoenix Suns
Sacramento Kings
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Southeast Division

Miami Heat
Washington Wizards
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Southwest Division

San Antonio Spurs
Dallas Mavericks
Houston Rockets
Memphis Grizzlies
New Orleans Hornets

Since we all know the Lakers are the new champions, it’s time to look forward for next season.

And as far as the coming 2009 NBA Draft is concerned, the Los Angeles Clippers are the big winners of the NBA’s 25th draft lottery, moving up from the third-best chance to earn the top pick. Memphis will be second and Oklahoma City will pick third.

With the result now at hand, Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin appears to be the consensus No.1 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. Griffin, who led the nation with 30 double-doubles and 14.4 rebounds per game while also averaging a Big 12-best 22.7 points as a sophomore, might be the best option for the Los Angeles Clippers as they can dispatch the services of expensive power forward Zach Randolph and try the rebuilding process once again.

Sure, the Los Angeles Clippers already have a lot of forwards on their roster but if the stats say that Griffin will give them the best chance to win more games, then that’s the guy they should take. Hopefully, it won’t be a mistake like the last time they had the overall No.1 pick, wasting it on Michael Olowakandi.

As far as the other teams and their picks are concerned, read on…

For the Memphis Grizzlies, it might be Connecticut junior center Hasheem Thabeet. The 7-3 shot-blocker is viewed as a high-risk choice. Memphis was the one team that might…

The end of the trading deadline means its back to business for playoff-bound teams.

The wheelin’ and dealin’ in the 2009 NBA basketball season is finally over as teams begin the second half of the season with a sense of urgency as they inch closer to the playoffs.

While there were plenty of big names rumored to be on the move, few teams actually had the guts to pull the trigger. There were plenty of deals made, however, including one that might have one Eastern Conference team feeling like its back in the title conversation.

But mostly, this deadline was about the much-discussed names that didn’t move; Vince Carter, Amare Stoudemire, Shaquille O’Neal, Richard Jefferson, and the expiring contracts of Wally Szczerbiak and Raef LaFrentz.

STILL, we have quite a few names who landed on new teams that just might have some sort of an impact in the race for the playoffs. One of which is of course, the trade that sent Jermaine O’Neal to the Miami Heat and Shawn Marion to Canada.

Yes, it finally happened, after weeks of speculation, the Miami Heat finally pulled the trigger, sending Shawn Marion to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Jermaine O’Neal, a move that could put Miami back to the title hunt. J.O. adds that inside presence the Heat lacked since…