NBA Wednesdays 02/17/2010

The biggest news emerging from the NBA this past week did not come from Dallas, Texas. While it is true that 108,713 people attended the All-Star Game in Cowboys Stadium over the weekend, the festivities as a whole were over-exaggerated and vastly underwhelming. What the NBA needs to boost its ratings for the All-Star Weekend is the superstar power of a LeBron James or Kobe Bryant participating in its lucrative 3-point Contest or Slam-Dunk Competition. Granted Bryant has been battling an ankle injury as of late and did the right thing by not participating in the All-Star Game. However, King James and others were hiding behind the facade of potential injury. Back when Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins were shocking the world with their unparalleled creativity in terms of their dunking ability, the Slam-Dunk Competition was considered an entertaining event that allowed for the great ones to put on a show for their extensive fan base. Now, the Slam-Dunk Competition has been reduced to the recycled stylings of Krypto-Nate and his unmatched leapfrogging ability when it comes to dunking a basketball. Nate Robinson took down DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors in a matchup that was never close because no one can resist the unfathomed ability of a 5'9 point guard flying high and slamming it home. With all due respect to Krypto-Nate, if Superman and King James entered the competition, he wouldn't even make it to the finals. The Slam-Dunk Competition has become a very expensive joke; a landmark attraction that manages to sell out the landmark but fails to attract.

One of the finer points of the All-Star Game every year is its ability to start out as a forum for the NBA superstars to showcase their many talents. It then proceeds to end up as a compellingly watchable game where the superstars unite for their representative conferences and play their hearts out for the pure enjoyment of the game. One of the great things about the All-Star Games in all major sports is that they provide the only venues where the athletes can just go out and have fun. They do not have to treat the sport they love as a professional business. Rather, they can reminisce about a time when they were young men or women shooting basketballs in a gym or playing little league. There is no thought of money or contract extensions. There is only the heartfelt love of the game. And it is in these moments every year where the athlete can truly appreciate why he loves his life and how what he does can represent a beacon of light for so many people. With that being said, this year's NBA All-Star Game was certainly not devoid of any drama. From Dwight Howard's hilarious 3-point shot to the incredible alley-oops involving King James, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwyane Wade, the All-Star Game certainly had its peaking moments of entertainment. It looked as if the East was going to run away with it many times as Wade and LeBron carried the team within the perimeter while Chris Bosh dominated around the boards. However, the West would claw back on the shoulders of Chauncey Billups, who scored 12 points off four 3-point shots in the 4th quarter and allowed the team to stay in the game until the very end. Carmelo Anthony had an outstanding game with 27 points and 10 rebounds while playing with an injured elbow. Yet when head coach George Karl drew up a play for him to win the game, Anthony faltered at the buzzer and the East crawled away triumphantly. This put an end to the most-watched All-Star Game in NBA history and set the stage for the 2nd half of the NBA season.

The Dallas Mavericks kicked their 2nd half off with a bang by getting involved in a seven-player deal with the Washington Wizards. Ever since Gilbert Arenas and Jarvis Crittenton hoisted their weapons for a gunfight at the Verizon Center, the Wizards lost their sense of magic on the basketball court and their season turned into an irreparable disaster. Head Coach Flip Saunders was brought in to be the savior of this franchise, having guided the Minnesota Timberwolves and Detroit Pistons to appearances in the conference finals during his tenure. He was expected to lead a team headlined by Gilbert Arenas to the promised land, or at least garner enough respect to be considered one of the elite teams in the NBA. Yet because of Arenas's off-the-court antics, combined with his inability to decipher the seriousness of his actions, the Wizards have been set back many years and have now begun the process of rebuilding. They traded away pieces of their repertoire in Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood, and DeShawn Stevenson to the Mavericks for Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, Quinton Ross, and James Singleton. This trade seemingly does nothing for the Wizards, who are looking to dump salaries and clear enough cap space to sign free agents and restock their arsenal through the draft. Josh Howard is a very nice player whom Flip Saunders can build around. He averages over 12 points and 3 rebounds a game and can serve as a deep-tier jump shooter outside the perimeter. However, the season is all but lost for the Wizards and one can feel bad for Howard, who moves from a dangerous playoff contender to an unquestionable failure.

As for the Mavericks, some would argue that they are now the 2nd best team in the Western Conference and can pose a significant challenge to the Lakers in the playoffs. The latter notion will only be true if Kobe Bryant remains hampered by that ankle injury and enters the playoffs at less than 100%. But the Mavericks are certainly a better team now than they were a couple weeks ago. Caron Butler can complement the one-two punch of Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd by serving as a terrific post-player who can hit crucial jump shots in the clutch. Butler averages close to 17 ppg and is very lethal outside the perimeter. He can draw opposing defenses away from Nowitzki and allow for the Mavericks to generate an effective offensive strategy. Haywood is a veteran center who averages 9 points and 10 rebounds a game. He will look to replace Erick Dampier, who will miss several weeks with a dislocated right middle finger. He also averages 2 blocked shots a game and will bring a heavy dose of athleticism to the center position for the Mavericks. Stevenson will not play much of a factor for the Mavs, but he certainly adds more depth to a very questionable Dallas bench. The Mavericks are now in a prime position to make a decent run in the NBA playoffs. Yet they will have to earn their appearance in the NBA Finals by trekking through the smog-covered hills of downtown Los Angeles.

The Cleveland Cavaliers also made a serious move before the trade deadline by acquiring Antawn Jamison from the Wizards...ANTAWN JAMISON??? I thought their sights were set on trading for Amare Stoudemire from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Zydrunas Ilgauskas and J.J. Hickson. Many had predicted that if the Cavs made that trade for Stoudemire, then there would be no stopping them in their quest to reach the NBA Finals and possibly win LeBron his first NBA championship. So then why would the Cavs renege the deal and instead opt for the deceptively gifted Jamison? So that they could maintain the depth they already have on their bench. The Cavs illustrated how much they love Hickson, who is a wonderful young forward that averages just over 7 points and 4 rebounds a game. He is a potential star of the future whom the Cavs are hoping will start with LeBron in the coming seasons. As for right now, he allows for Shaq to recharge his batteries when he needs to and continues to prove himself as a valuable asset for the Cavs coming off the bench. The Stoudemire trade would have forced the Cavs to part ways with Hickson and rely on Shaq to give them more minutes. It would have made their bench considerably weaker and would have pushed Anderson Varejao to make a larger impact in the Cavs' rotation. There was also the issue of team chemistry in which Stoudemire would have to learn how to play with Shaq and LeBron. The Cavs got off to a slow start at the beginning of the season because Shaq was having trouble adjusting to an offense centered around LeBron. They didn't want to cruise into the playoffs wondering if Amare would have the same kind of problems. There is no doubt that Stoudemire is a better athlete than Jamison and would have certainly added another superstar presence to the city of Cleveland. Yet the move for Jamison reflects exactly what the Cavs need right now. They know they have a championship team in their grasp and they needed a substantial role player to complement the talents of King James and the Big Witness Protector. Jamison fits that role perfectly, averaging over 20 points and 8 rebounds a game. He will add some versatility to the lineup and will no doubt bring experience and veteran leadership to the forefront of the Cavs' championship campaign. The Cavs are now a much deeper team with Jamison in their midst because they will also have Varejao and Hickson coming off the bench. And with Mo Williams and Delonte West returning from injury, the Cavs will now steer their focus towards finishing the 2nd half strong and working their way towards the NBA Finals.

That's it for now...tune in next week for potential reaction to the trade deadline and other NBA games. Til then...