Oklahoma Thunder's Oklahoma City Thunder friend's fan blogs

The face of the Chicago Bulls has drastically changed in recent years.  But, apparently for the better.  Here is a quick run down of who they have under contract and how they stack up in the East.

PG Derrick Rose is as good as they get.  He could emerge as the top point guard in the league this year.

SG Kyle Korver.  A sharpshooter that can spread the floor.

SF Luol Deng.  He can do a little bit of everything well.  A really good third option to have on the floor.

PF Carlos Boozer.  The Bulls may have the best pick and roll pair in the league. 

C Jakim Noah.   Heart, sole, passion, hustle.

Taj Gibson helps form a rotation in the post.  The Bulls have signed JJ Reddick to an offer sheet and Orlando can match it.  They still need help. As of now there are no other guards or bigs on the roster.  But, this is a solid starting 5.  They are a year or two away from acquiring the pieces to challenge to tops.  Orlando, Miami, and Boston should be the top 3.  Atlanta should also be 3rd or 4th.  But, Chicago may over take them.  A second round playoff appearance would be a very successful season.

Continue reading "Bulls to return to glory days."

The New York Knicks got duped by LeBron.  That may be for the best since the Cavs owner is sending the city of Cleveland's curse with him wherever he goes.  The Knicks were very smart in signing Armare Stoudamire and not waiting on LeBron.  They could have been left out in the cold like New Jersey.

The Knicks new that it would be very hard to keep David Lee, so they found a team that would do a sign and trade and pay very well for him.  The Golden State Warriors gave Lee a 6 year $80 million deal.  In return the Knicks get Anthony Randolph, Kaleena Azubuike, and Ronny Turiaf.

This is will be little talked about next year, but could be a really good move for New York.  Here is how the starting lineup currently looks:

PG  Tony Douglass--in his 2nd year and really needs to be coming off the bench and developing.

Continue reading "Knicks retooling, rebuilding, will make playoffs"

Miami has become a 3 headed hydra with Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, and LeBron James.  What are the Celtics to do?  Keep what they are doing.  They have resigned Doc Rivers, Ray Allen and Pual Pierce.  So, the big three (Garnett) and Rojan Rondo are all intact.  Kendrick Perkins is hurt and may miss a good part of next season.  And, Rasheed Wallace is contemplating retirement. 

Part of the solution is the signing of Jermaine O'Neal.  He can score inside and rebound.  He likely will fill Wallace's shoes and start until Perkins gets back.  They still need more depth.  Glen Davis provides a great lift off the bench, but can be over matched size wise.  Without Wallace or Perkins, they don't have a big bodied 7 footer in there. 

Continue reading "Celtics can tame the Beat in the East"

New comer Cole Aldrich did not play in OKC's first summer league game of the year.  in fact, the Thunder did not start a single rookie. 

James Harden did not make a single 3pt shot, but attempted 18 free throws and had 19 points for the Thunder. 2nd year player Eric Maynor had 5 assists and 15 poinsts.   DJ White continues to show he can score with 13pts on 29 minutes and 6 rebounds.  He may be needed this year if Serge Ibaka's injury is significant.  He went down with a knee injury but walked off the floor.  There is no word yet on what his condition is. 

The star of the night was Byron Mullins who had 24 points and 7 rebounds with 2 blocks.  He played a lot in the developmental league and saw limited time with OKC last year.  He is a good pick and pop player that can allow Durant and Westbrook to exploit one on one matchups.  Should he continue to develop, he could allow the Thunder to let Krstic go and simply replace him with Mullins.  I think that is the plan for now. 

Continue reading "Summer League Scare for Thunder."

Amare Stoudamire becoming a Knick just makes sense (and dollars).  He is being reunited with coach Mike D'Antoni and his high octane offense.  That means even more stats for Stoudamire.  There are currently hopes of landing Lebron and or Wade with this signing.  But, should they not get either, New York has gotten better with Amare.

There is a chance of having two double-double players with Stoudamire and David Lee.  Those two would form a nice inside duo.  Eddie Curry is in a player option year that he will likely keep.  If Curry can stay healthy the Knicks would have a solid inside game with some depth.  But that is a big if.  Curry only played 7 games last year.

As of this moment, here is how the Knicks roster looks:

PG  Toney Douglas--a second year player that has no where to go but up.  But is no where near ready to lead a team.

Continue reading "Stoudamire is the new Big Apple"

Two of the biggest needs for the Thunder are inside presence and outside shooting.  They got the shooter by trading the 32nd pick to Miami for sharp shooter D. Cook and the 18th overall pick.  Wow!  The move helps Miami trim the cap space they are fighting while acquiring a very high second round pick to go along with the other 3 second rounders they already have.  Second round picks are not guaranteed like first round ones are. So, Miami doesn't have to keep the guys they draft. 

As for the Thunder, Cook will help spread the floor and give them more punch off the bench.  He is only $2.2 against the cap. So, he is a very inexpensive shooter that helps fill a need.  But more impressive in this deal is the 18th pick to go along with the 21st and 26th.  With 3 picks, the Thunder could trade up and try and take a good big man.  But, I don't know who will trade down.   Rumors have it that Indiana wants a point guard, but not at the ten.  Epke Udoh from Baylor may be available at the ten. 

Continue reading "The Thunder keep getting better."

There are three ways an NBA team can improve:  1) Draft  2) Trades  3)  Free Agency.

 I've taken a look at how well teams have drafted since 2003.  I used the number of rebounds, points, assist, steals, and blocks to help me rank the teams on their ability to draft.  If a player was acquired via a trade, he counts towards the team that received him in the trade.  Also, the statistics that count are only the ones that the player acquired while with the team that drafted him.  So, if a player was traded and then became a good player, that team lost out.  Let's see the results.

The first list is the most simple.  It is how teams rank by just counting all the points, rebounds, steals, blocks and assists:

1)  Chicago

Continue reading "NBA draft, Who Drafts the Best?"

The Milwaukee Bucks traded Charlie Bell and Dan Gadzurik to the Golden State Warrios for Corey Magette.

 This is a good move for both teams and potentially a great move for Milwuakee.

Golden State is changing ownership and wants to get a younger nucleus to build around.  The Trade of Magette rids the team of $31 million for the next  3 years. 

As far as the Bucks go, this was a good move for a couple of reasons. One, if John Salmons leaves, then they have his replacement.  But, if they can resign Salmons, there is a lot more firepower for this team.  The Bucks made the playoffs and had a good showing without their top inside threat in Andrew Bogut. 

Small news, but could be a big deal.

Continue reading "Bucks trade Gadzuric, Bell for Maggette"

The dust has started to settle and it looks like the Big 10 in now the Big 12 and vice versa.   The Big 10 will finally get to have it's championship game with Nebraska now on board.  Weather they pick up any more teams is speculation and rumor right now.  But, the excitement of a championship game and the revenue it will bring will be spectacular.  There is one catch with a championship game, it elminates champions. 

 What I mean by that is simply this:  There have been times in the Big 12 and the SEC where a team destined to play for the National title failed to do so because it lost this championship game.  It also makes for bad BCS matchups.  For example, let's say Penn State wins it's division with a 9 and 3 record.  And plays the winner of the other side that has maybe Ohio State and 11-0 and Wisconsin at 10-1. If Ohio State wins in this scenario, they go to the title game and Wisconsin who is probably a top 5 goes to a very good BCS game.  But, if Penn State pulls of the upset, Wisconsin is going to a much lower bowl and a much less appealing matchup of a 10 and 3 going against maybe an undefeated Boise State.

Continue reading "Big 12 or Big 10?"

The Big 10 officially added Nebraska, making their conference 12 teams strong.  They can now have a titile game. Altough they say they are not in a hurry but will continue to expand the conference.  The Mountain West raised their number to 10 when Boise State announced joining yesterday.  They could have a championship game if they wanted to.  But, it's a lot easier with 12 or more schools.  So,  I don't think the Mountain West is done adding teams. 

There are currently 11 conferences and the Big 12 looks to be going away.  The Big 12 currently has 10 and now the WAC is down to 8 teams.  The Big East is the next smallest with 8 and the Sun Belt, the weakest  conference has 9.  If 3 of these leagues were to dissolve, creating 8 superconferences then, a playoff would fit very nicely.  It would actually be a 16 team tournament, since everyone would have a conference championship game. 

Continue reading "Big 10, Mountain West, playoffs?"