Portland Trail Blazers

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How Good is Portland?

By Celticsfanatic | July 6, 2009 | Celtics 17

Wallace committing to C's.Ever since the 2007 NBA Draft, the Portland Trail Blazers have been a team the NBA has kept an eye on. That mere "eye" became "eyes," and the quick sideglance at the team became a stare as the Blazers went on a 13-game winning streak in 2007-08 without Greg Oden, whom they drafted first overall in the 2007 Draft. Oden was out for the year with injuries, but was supposed to return the subsequent season. The next season the Blazers finished fourth in the Western Conference, compiling a 58-24 record, as well as having Greg Oden for 61 games. Unfortunately for the fans in Rip City, the Blazers were ousted from the playoffs by a red-hot Houston Rockets team.They are looking at a number of players to acquire this offseason. Hedo Turkoglu had reportedly been in verbal agreement with the Blazers to sign a contract just days...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Brandon Roy, David Lee, Donnie Walsh, Greg Oden, Hedo Turkoglu, Houston Rockets, LaMarcus Aldridge, Mike D'Antoni, NBA, New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Toronto Raptors

Wallace Committing to C's

By Celticsfanatic | July 5, 2009 | Celtics 17

Globe is reporting:An NBA source said tonight forward Rasheed Wallace has committed to sign with the Celtics Wednesday, the first day free agents are eligible to sign. "Once (Wallace) had a chance to reflect on everything, and realizing what his objectives are, he just decided this was the best fit for him, all the way around," said Bill Strickland, Wallace's agent. Wallace is expected to receive a two-year deal using the mid-level exception (expected to be about $5.6 million to $5.8 million). The Celtics All-Star trio of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce, owner Wyc Grousbeck, coach Doc Rivers, and president Danny Ainge met with Wallace last week. Wallace turned down overtures from Orlando and San Antonio to commit to Boston.That's the way, uh huh uh huh, I like it, uh huh uh huh!We love you, you big (expletive)!!...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Boston Celtics, NBA, Rasheed Wallace

Rumor/Free Agent Updates

By Celticsfanatic | July 5, 2009 | Celtics 17

No story today guys. A few rumors heading your way however...Hedo, Raptors, agree on five year, $33 million deal.Frank Dell'Apa: Summer jobs for bench riders.Bull Riding: Chicago SG analysis.Danny Ainge keeps eyes on Big Baby.Rajon Rondo deals with all trade rumors.Portland considering David Lee.Teams interested in Marbury.Red's Army: Doc Meeting with Grant Hill....

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Bill Walker, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, David Lee, Doc Rivers, Glen Davis, Grant Hill, Lester Hudson, NBA, Portland Trail Blazers, Rajon Rondo, Stephon Marbury, Washington Wizards

Rumor/Free Agent/Story Updates

By Celticsfanatic | July 4, 2009 | Celtics 17

Celtics 17: No Laker fans, you're not champs yet: 2009-10 will be memorable.Swing and a miss: Ariza > Artest according to Plaschke.Red's Army: Detroit to pursue Tom Thibodeau. CelticsBlog: More reasons why Boston may be right fit (for Sheed).Cavalier Attitude: He-gone: how Hedo alters Cavs plans.Globe: Report: Turkoglu to Raptors.Jackson returning as Lakers coach....

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Hedo Turkoglu, NBA, Rasheed Wallace, Tom Thibodeau, Toronto Raptors

No Laker Fans, You're Not Champs Yet: 2009-10 Will Be Memorable

By Celticsfanatic | July 4, 2009 | Celtics 17

HEDO NOT A BLAZER!Wallace will wait a week to accept/decline offer."Wow it's 7/02/09 and the Los Angeles Lakers have already been crowned champions!" That was one of the first comments on Marc Stein's story two nights ago, breaking the Artest-to-LA news. Unfortunately for the fanatics in Hollywood, that isn't the case. It isn't the case for the Celtics either if they are able to insert Rasheed Wallace into their already threatening frontcourt.The Magic aren't favorites either, despite the recent addition of Vince Carter.Nor Cleveland, even though they just patched up a hole in their game by acquiring Shaquille O'Neal.San Antonio also will have to battle their way to the top, although they were the winners of last Thursday's NBA Draft, on top of trading for Richard Jefferson.The Nuggets hope to build too. But that won't allow them to breeze through this season.The fact is, the NBA is the best it's...

Read more | 5 Comments | Tags: Andrew Bynum, Boston Celtics, Chris Andersen, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, Orlando Magic, Pau Gasol, Paul Pierce, Phil Jackson, Rasheed Wallace, Ray Allen, Richard Jefferson, Ron Artest, San Antonio Spurs, Shaquille O'Neal, Vince Carter

Yup, Danny Ainge is a Genius

By Celticsfanatic | July 3, 2009 | Celtics 17

Marbury feels (short) Celtics days are done.Bill Strickland, Sheed's agent, on the contract offer.I used to hate -- no, DESPISE -- Danny Ainge. After his deal which sent the then-admirable Antonie Walker packing, to then only sign Brian Scalabrine, it was clear to me that this guy was just not a fit for the Celtics.Then came the 2006-07 season, a year where the Celtics not only had shameful results, but left a humiliating mark on both their legendary name and Boston's fans. And just when I thought both Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers were "outta here," a meeting was arranged between Celtics star Paul Pierce, and Danny Ainge himself. Pierce told Ainge that "he wanted to be a Celtic for life," but if the C's didn't find veteran help for him that offseason, he'd prefer leaving Beantown and heading to a contender.Little did he know that Mr. Ainge expected a...

Read more | 2 Comments | Tags: Al Jefferson, Antoine Walker, Bill Walker, Boston Celtics, Brian Scalabrine, Danny Ainge, Delonte West, Eddie House, Glen Davis, James Posey, Justin Reed, Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett, Lester Hudson, Mikki Moore, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA Draft, Orlando Magic, Paul Pierce, PJ Brown, Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Sam Cassell, Scot Pollard, Seattle SuperSonics, Stephon Marbury, Tony Allen

One More Thing -- Hoopsvine.com Interview with Jay Bilas

By Zach Harper | July 2, 2009 | Talk Hoops

Before I leave you for the Fourth of July celebration weekend, I wanted to make sure that everybody checks out the Hoops Vine interview with Jay Bilas about the NBA Draft. The Hoops Vine brand name has been around for a while but the new and improved Hoops Vine social basketball network is a growing entity powered by the genius and hard work of Lang Greene. Lang is a friend of Talkhoops and has even let me be so kind as to let me answer a mailbag for his readers (last April). Lang is a really smart basketball mind and great at covering the sport and furthering the discussion. I highly recommend this interview with Jay Bilas and Hoops Vine in general. It should definitely be a part of your daily internet rounds. Lang: I wanted to get your thoughts on the draft. What were your initial feelings when the...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: 2009 NBA Draft, Hoops Vine, Jay Bilas, NBA

The 8th Seed Podcast -- Volume Two

By Zach Harper | July 2, 2009 | Talk Hoops

There is a joint venture going on through some people who I met at Blogs With Balls back in June. It involves a pretty great crew of people -- eight people in fact. Here's the crew: - The Incomparable Jared Wade from Both Teams Played Hard- The Impossibly Tall John Karalis from Red's Army- The Blogs With Balls Project Spurs-Chronicles of Crotty Hybrid Drinking Contest Champion Michael De Leon of Project Spurs- The Man who will assuredly represent us when we get sued for liable because of this podcast Jeff Garcia from Project Spurs- The Ladies Man of Twitter Rey Moralde from The No Look Pass- The Man I Want to Be when I grow up Adam Best from Fansided- The Man with the fastest growing internet show Glenn Moore from Dugout Sports ShowThose men plus myself make up the 8th Seed. A clusterf*&k of opinions about the NBA and...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: 2009 NBA Draft, Both Teams Played Hard, Dugout Sports Show, Fansided.com, NBA, Project Spurs, Red's Army, The No Look Pass

NBA Outsider: Memphis Grizzlies Draft Follow Up

By Staff Report | June 30, 2009 | MVN Outsider

3 Shades of Blue tells how this years draft picks are not super stars but certainly upgrades.WHEN THE DRAFT GIVES YOU LEMONS..... The Memphis Grizzlies exercised all three of the picks with which they entered the 2009 NBA draft-nos. 2, 27, and 36, selecting Hasheem Thabeet, Demarre Carroll, and Sam Young. Sure, when the year 2020 comes around, the potential for this year's draft crop to be viewed as one of the best ever is pretty low-but as the title states, the draft might give you lemons...and sometimes the lemonade takes a bit longer to make and isn't quite as good as Grandma's on a 90-degree day, but it should still be pretty tasty. What Michael Heisley has stated many times is that he wants to field a more defensive-oriented team (a philosophy with which I heartily agree), and this draft bears his mark in bold ink. Thabeet, Carroll, and...Read more

Read more | 1 Comment | Tags: Memphis Grizzlies, NBA, NBA Draft, NBA Outsider

NBA Rumor Mill: Wade Angry at the ATL, Trade Talk for Blazers and J.R. Smith Knocks Cuban

By Adam Sweeney | May 2, 2009 | MVN Outsider

We've seen a couple of tremendous games this week and are preparing for the second round of the NBA Playoffs. At MVN, we don't miss the shots, so take a seat on the bench as we go overtime this week to examine the latest rumors in the NBA.Wade Thinks Hawks are AmateurThe Atlanta Hawks may be on the rise in the Eastern Conference, but they still need to behave like a Playoff team concerning their on the court behavior. Their childish behavior has angered Dwyane Wade, claims SLAM Online. D-Wade is mainly frustrated by guard Mario West. West celebrated after Wade couldn't connect on a three-pointer before the half in Game 5, which the Hawks won 106-91. The Hawks held a 23-point lead going into the half. Wade said West's celebration was "funny", rhetorically asking, "What is this game coming to?" Wade wasn't thrilled either by Atlanta forward Josh...Read more

Read more | 2 Comments | Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Dwyane Wade, J.R. Smith, Mark Cuban, Miami Heat, Trail Blazers, Travis Outlaw

Five Questions: Talking NBA Playoffs with The Lakers Nation

By Anthony Hall | April 18, 2009 | MVN Outsider

As they get set to open their first-round series against the Utah Jazz on Sunday afternoon, the Lakers enter the playoffs as the clear favorites to come out of the Western Conference -- they did, after all, finish the season with a whopping 11-game advantage over the Spurs, Nuggets and Blazers in the Western Conference standings. We wanted to delve into what, exactly, the road to the NBA Finals looks like for the Lakers, and who better to ask than the guys at The Lakers Nation? We recently sat down with Jonny of The Lakers Nation to talk playoff matchups, MVP speculation, and postseason predictions in the latest installment of NBA Outsider's "Five Questions" series: 1. Do you see any chance of Kobe "upsetting" Lebron in the MVP balloting? Does he deserve MVP honors more than Lebron does? Lebron is the consensus pick this year and, like a lot of...Read more

Read more | 1 Comment | Tags: Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, NBA Playoffs, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs

NBA Great Debates: Which First Round Playoff Series is the Most Intriguing?

By Staff Report | April 17, 2009 | MVN Outsider

NBA Outsider's Joe Boikess and Adam Sweeney debate the issue: Of the eight playoff series set to get underway in the National Basketball Association, which is must-see TV?Joe Boikess can't wait to watch the Spurs and Mavericks square off:This is my favorite time of year, and not only because of the arriving warm weather or the approaching end of the school year. It's NBA Playoffs time, and this year's batch of first round matchups, especially in the Western Conference, is shaping up to be the best ever.Basketball junkies have more than a few intriguing series to pay attention to. In the East, the best looking series would have to be the Hawks taking on the Heat in the always-tough-to-predict 4/5 matchup. But aside from that, Cavaliers-Pistons, Celtics-Bulls and Magic-76ers should all be entertaining as well.The real TNT-style drama is going on out West. The top-seeded Lakers get to see...Read more

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, NBA, NBA Playoffs, New Orleans Hornets, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz

NBA Playoffs: First Round Preview

By Joe Boikess | April 17, 2009 | MVN Outsider

The NBA Playoffs tip off this weekend with eight games over the course of two days. Here's what you need to know to get you ready for the madness that is the first round...Eastern Conference(1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (8) Detroit PistonsSeason series - Cavaliers won 3-1Drama factor - Low. The Pistons have gotten past the first round each of the past seven seasons, but expect that streak to come to an end. The Cavaliers are the better team here, and the only way that the Pistons can still make the series interesting is if the effort is there. In years past Detroit has looked lackluster in the first round, and this year they can't afford to do that against a much tougher and more well-rounded team.Key Player - Tayshaun Prince. He has the honor of guarding LeBron James, and his success in that department will likely determine how long the...Read more

Read more | 2 Comments | Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, NBA, NBA Playoffs, New Orleans Hornets, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz

NBA Awards: The Best of the Best

By Joe Boikess | April 14, 2009 | MVN Outsider

With only two more days remaining in the NBA regular season, it's about time to hand out my awards for the best individual performances of the season...Rookie of the Year - Derrick Rose (Bulls)My Ballot:1. Rose2. O.J. Mayo3. Brook LopezThe rookie class of 2009 was incredibly deep, but Rose gets my vote for a number of reasons. As the number one overall pick in last year's draft, he shouldered a ton of pressure and responsibility as the Bulls' new starting point guard, and yet he managed to put up consistent production for a team that was in the playoff hunt all year long. He averaged over 16 points and six assists per game and shot better than 47 percent from the field.Mayo had a great first season as well, especially in the scoring department where he averaged 18.4 points and shot a decent 38 percent from downtown. But his team,...Read more

Read more | 10 Comments | Tags: NBA

NBA Great Debates: Reaching the Conference Finals

By Staff Report | April 9, 2009 | MVN Outsider

NBA Outsider's Adam Sweeney and Joe Boikess debate the issue: Who will be the final four playoff teams alive in the NBA conference finals?Adam Sweeney argues that the Magic and Rockets will join the Lakers and Cavaliers:As huge of a college hoops fans that I am, the Final Four was about as exciting as watching Fast and Furious (sorry if anybody liked that movie). In honor of the Final Four and merciless beat down the North Carolina Tar Heels gave the Michigan State Spartans, why don't we choose our own Final Four for the NBA playoffs? Are you up for that, old chap? Sorry Joe. I'll never call you old chap again.I think we can both agree that the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers are going to make it to their respective conference finals. L.A. has shown itself to be the elite team in the Western Conference and Cleveland...Read more

Read more | 1 Comment | Tags: NBA, NBA Playoffs

NBA Great Debates: Cuban Criticizes Refs Via Twitter

By Staff Report | April 3, 2009 | MVN Outsider

NBA Outsider's Joe Boikess and Adam Sweeney debate the issue: Did the NBA go too far by fining Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban for his Twitter remarks?Joe Boikess believes the NBA is out of line:In the interest of full disclosure, I should probably confess one thing before getting into this topic. As many of my readers know, I am a near-lifelong fan of the Dallas Mavericks and its colorful owner, Mark Cuban. For objectivity's sake, I have put my allegiance as a Mavs fan aside for this debate.With that in mind, I can still confidently say as a neutral follower of this issue that the NBA was once again out of line in fining Cuban for criticizing the referees, this time via Twitter.Since Cuban became the Mavericks owner more than nine years ago, he's racked up a bill with the NBA for more than $1.5 million, mostly for criticism...Read more

Read more | 1 Comment | Tags: Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, NBA, Twitter

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