Best playoffs performances.

The NBA is pursuing its vote about the best performances of the decade. Now it is the turn of the best playoff game in the 2000's. Here is my opinion about the picks.

Portland -Lakers game 7 2000: This is my pick. Because this game has drawn the Lakers' dynasty. I don't know if the Lakers would have become they have been in the early 2000s if they would not have won this game. That sealed the union between Kobe and O'Neal.

Kings - Lakers 2002 game 7: That has hurt. I have been a fan of the Kings for the longest time. In my opinion, the Kings were playing at this time the best offensive basketball I have ever seen. Unfortunately, Stojakovic was coming back from injuries and hasn't played any minutes of the series. He shot an airball in the money time (which I don't blame due to the circumstances). But the Lakers had to face one of their best ennemies at this time. I remember watching the game, it was just hard...

2005 NBA Finals: SAS-DET, Game 5:

That is a pretty cool pick as San Antonio has been one of the greatest team in this decade. It is good that they are honored as a nominee. Even though the series was great; ending up with a 7 game, but there was nothing really remarkable out of that game.

2006 West Semis: DAL-SAS, Game 7!

A pretty nice one two with Nowitzky becoming an actual superstar thanks to this performance. He became clutch and brought his team into the NBA finals. Nevertheless, the finals were not that good. I don't pick this one.

2008 East Semis: CLE-BOS, Game 7

One of my favorite. Lebron James just was fantastic, but the teamwork of Boston and their fighting spirit was too much to overcome.

2009 East 1st Rd: BOS-CHI, Game 6

Probably the best game in terms of scenario and intensity. But that was a first round game. And neither of the time won the championship this year. It might have been exciting and enter into history. But I'd rather pick the game that drove the Lakers in the finals and earn their first championship rings with O'Neal and Kobe

Stephen Jackson Lands In Charlotte

Stephen Jackson has been requesting for a trade since this summer as he doesn't see how his Golden Stat Warriors could be competitive this year. Golden State has just accepted an offer from the Charlotte Bobcats that sends Stephen Jackson for Raja Bell and Radmanovic.

Now I don't really see how Stephen Jackson could be happy with this deal. He made it clear that he wanted to play for a title contender at this point of his career, and hence, he named couple of teams that met the requirements. That was certainly not the Bobcats.

"He's happy for three reasons: one, he respects Larry Brown very much; two, the respect he has for Michael Jordan; and three, the opportunity to play and have his value recognized," said Jackson's agent, Mark Stevens. "He's honored that Michael Jordan wants him."

I don't really believe that could work out. Of course, Stephen Jackson is a great addition to the Bobcats' roster, he's going to bring shooting skill and scoring, but that might not be enough to turn Charlotte into a playoffs team. I'd like to see further in the season how the Bobcats and Stephen Jackson turns.

Brandon Jennings Could Have Been Great With The Knicks

Sincerely, I don't understand what is wrong with the managing staff of the Knicks. I have been a fan of New York since I've studied there, and I will always be. I am not the kind of guy to change his mind like that. But I really don't understand the Knicks.

They are eager to get Lebron James, and I am sure that they would have a chance simply because New York is the biggest sport market in the world. But how do you want to convince Lebron James to leave an NBA title contender for a team that is going in limbo. You need at least to set up a supporting cast that would assure James to be playing in the playoffs.

Now New York was seeking for a point guard for that matters, that could potentially help Lebron James. Hence they were looking after Stephen Curry and Ricky Rubio. But when Stephen Curry wasn't available as Golden Stat drafted him, they chose Jordan Hill, a Forward, instead of picking another great talent in Brandon Jennings.

Jordan Hill is still struggling to play in the NBA while Jennings is thriving. Jennings have just scored 55 points, the highest a rookie has ever made since 1968, and is doing great. I believe it could have been a perfect fit for the Knicks, since Nate Robinson isn't a real point guard, and it could help the Knicks with their scoring deficit. Also, in case Lebron James, come, they needed a supporting guy who could score to stretch the defense.

I don't see how Jordan Hill is any better than the forward James have in Cleveland. I am skeptik with the chances to bring James in the Big Apple.

Byron Scott Out Of New Orleans

Byron Scott has been recently fired by the New Orleans Hornets. Of course, this event is linked with the bad start of the team, while the Hornets seemed to be one of the most promising team in the league two years ago. Now the New Orleans are struggling, and it seems there is no will of any players to start a revolution.

In my opinion, the bad start of the Hornets isn't due to Byron Scott, who is I believe one of the best coach in the league. It is simply due to poor general management decisions. Of course New Orleans owns a great superstar in Chris Paul, but it isn't enough to make a run to the playoffs in such a competitive western conference.

New Orleans might have a great shooter in Stojakovic, a great defender with Okafor and great talent with West, their bench is too tight and there is no way this team will have a valid run in the playoffs for quite a while.

I wish the best for Byron Scott, and also for Chris Paul, that might have a long season ahead of him.

Iverson's Behavior Is Unprofessional

I have heard that Iverson has left the Memphis Grizzlies for personnal reasons for an undetermined amount of time. Of course, these reasons are linked with the crisis Memphis had with Iverson, who is not really eager to start games on the bench.

Of course, as I have said previously, I don't understand why Memphis signed Iverson, and also why Iverson accepted, as the situation was to me clear right from the beginning. But still, I can't believe that Iverson is already arguing while the season has just started.

I believe this might be the end of Iverson's career, which hasn't really been a success, but that looks like other career ends of similar players.

Mon premier site Internet: Petits souvenirs

Je viens de retrouver grâce à un ami un souvenir qui me tenait beaucoup à coeur. En effet, en 2003, j'avais ouvert mon premier site Internet. C'était pour mon club de basket, le CALHR basket. Désespéré de ne pas avoir de représentation en ligne du club, j'ai décidé de tester, et donc, j'ai trouvé un service qui permettait de créer des sites Internet pour des clubs sportifs.

Voici le site Internet, qui avait été fait avec les moyens de l'époque. Un bon souvenir...

Worried About The San Antonio Spurs

I am very worried about the bad start of the season of the Spurs. Of course, the Spurs are used to do slow starts and speed up when it really matters the most, the playoffs. But still, they haven't get used to loose two games the first ten days of the season. Moreover, Tony Parker announced recently that the Spurs were planning on changing their strategy this year, with a tough western conference competition combined to a lot of home games in the first half of the season.

Of course, winning at Utah is difficult, with one of the hottest crowed of the US sport business. But what worries me the most, is that it seems on the defensive end that there are the most problems. The Spurs have always been a defensive minded team. Tim Duncan has been on of the best defender in the NBA for more than a decade.

It seems that the Spurs are still struggling in getting their new players together. A lot of things have changed for the Spurs. They have a brand new paint with Bayless and McDyess supporting Tim Duncan. Richard Jefferson probably needs a little bit of time to get along with his new mates.

But still, I don't understand why the Spurs are doing so poorly on the defensive end, which should be the most secure part of their games.

Iverson And The End Of The Shooting Point Guard

Iverson's career is going in limbo. There is no doubt about that. He failed to fit in the Piston's team play, he doesn't have the quickness he used to, and he is now in one of the worst NBA franchise.



But with the end of Iverson's career, it is the end of a certain idea of the NBA that is disappearing. Actually, an NBA concept that borned with Iverson's arrival in the league. Iverson has been a unique player in the NBA: A small player with amazing quickeness and scoring abilities. Due to his particularity, The Sixers had to accomodate the team and the system to get the best out of Iverson's amazing talent. They made him play shooting guard, got a bunch of great role players on his side to help him on the defence end, but also get rebounds (Tyronne Hill, Dikembe Mutumbo among others).



Not so long after Iverson's arrival (actually the very same year), two other wonderful players came in: Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis. They had the very same kind of profile: strong athletic skills and quickness despite their lack of size, and strong scoring skills. Those three ones had 4 to 5 amazing years in the league. They seemed to be unstopable and where clueless questions for opponents, which were struggling to get a defensive response.



But as the years go by, we have seen that those three players career went into limbo. Their huge ego resulting from their scoring option number 1 status made them considering terrible career choices. You can see the Marbury's drama in New York. Steve Francis got injured and no team was willing to get such a player in their roster.



The same thing for Iverson.

What A Terrible Idea To Get Iverson For The Grizzlies

I'd like to know what went through the mind of Memphis' front office when they made the decision to sign Allen Iverson. It seems obvious that such a superstar will help you to sell a bunch of jerseys, but still, if you focus on the needs of the team, there is no way Iverson could help.

You have a bunch of young promising players, especially scorers like Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo, and you add up an old veteran which needs to keep the ball to be productive. Moreover, Iverson owns a a great ego, the kind of ego superstars are made of. But I don't see Iverson getting back its superstar aura any time soon, as his career is going in limbo. Of course, he can still score, but can't be productive enough to be of any help at any team.

I hope Iverson won't disorganize the Grizzlies team, because it is still very weak and need stability to grow. Now Iverson must be able to work on himself, accept his role player profile.

What Misses To The Hornets To Become A Premium Team

Let's face it, the Hornets, as the team is composed right now, is not able to pass the first round of the playoffs. The Western Conference is loaded with talent, and the New Orleans Hornets, at some point one of the raising stars in the league, as gone in limbo. Stojakovic is getting old, they have killed the combo Paul-Chandler (which might be a good point since Okafor is a great defender, which was not Chandler). But still, this team is lacking a great scorer to help Chris Paul make the plays. They need actually someone like Stephen Jackson, with great shooting abilities, or Kevin Martin, but mainly someone who is able to play one on one.

Now don't get me wrong, this team will not be able to become an NBA title contender for quite a while. They are still very weak on the defensive end. But at least, it could convince Chris Paul he's in a competitive team at the moment, which is not the case right now.

Joe Alexander's Future at Milwaukee

Milwaukee has decided not to pick up their thrid year option on Joe Alexander. That makes Alexander highest pick ever (8th pick in 2008) to have his rookie contract option declined. Only two other players, Golden State’s Patrick O’Bryant (9th pick in 2006) and the Los Angeles Clippers Yaroslav Korolev (12th pick in 2005) have had their teams pass on their first contract options. Alexander is now scheduled to become a free agent after the 2009-10 season.

This is something I don't quite understand. Alexander is a promising young player, which owns great shooting skills. I have faith in his talents, and I am sure he would interest a bunch of clubs when the season will end. Milwaukee don't really own premium players at the small forward position, and I don't see the reason why they are not eager to give another chance to Joe Alexander.

New Orleans struggle in this early season

I am actually not really surprised that New Orleans experience so much problem this season. Last year they failed in concreting their good 2007-2008 season. Now they have changed their center, for a promosing Emeka Okafor, but that doesn't have proven yet he has the same offensive skills than Tyson Chandler.

I am worried about the Hornets future, a promising franchise I have been following for quite a while. The main evidence is this loss against the Knicks whereas Paul has scored 32 and dishes out 13 assists. I believe this is going to be a very long season, as long as they don't find someone to consistently score on Paul's side.

Jefferson To The Spurs

I believe the Jefferson's trade is a great opportunity for the Spurs to get a new chnace for an NBA championship a majority of people consider the Spurs too old, but they have a lot of experience, a team that is focused on winning a championship, and with a balanced offense (a great player in the paint Duncan, a slasher in Tony Parker, a one on one specialist with Ginobili) and an explosive Forward with Jefferson).

Now the team got much better with the arrival of Antonio McDyess, and the potential of signing one more center.

The spurs will be there next season trust me.
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Spurs Facing The Upset

I believe San Antonio is en danger. The Mavs lead the series 3-1 and even though the series is coming back to San Antonio, I don't see the Spurs able to win 3 games in a row against such a competitive team. I believe the injury of Manu Ginobili might have been worse than expected.

The Spurs aren't able to develop a balanced offense. Parker and Duncan must score 30 pts to hope a victory. That is sad but the bench of the Spurs is at the moment probably the worst in these playoffs.

I am sad because that means the Spurs will need to rebuild for next season. They must get deeper on their bench and get someone able to score inside alongside Duncan.
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Dwight Howard Best Defender In The NBA

Dwight Howard is soon to become NBA's 2009 best defensive player. That isn't really a surprise of course. His great athletic skills allows him to control the paint. Wether it is a one on one defense or help defense, Howard put pressure on the other team and it it difficult to approach the Magic's hoop. Howard has been one of the hottest candidate to the MVP trophy even though James is dominating this year.

Jazz Excel In The Paint

I love the way the Utah Jazz is playing since Deron Williams Was dreafted. They have a specific technique in transitions that enable their forwards to get easy baskets in the paint. Indeed during transitions, both SG and SF crosses through the paint as any regular NBA team.

But instead of completely going out to the 3 points line, Utah owns some athletic guys like Brewer or Millsap that stops in the paint to wait for the pass. That give them the opportunity get easy dunk behind the defense that most of the time float to force the point guard out of the paint.

The lakers did a great job by cutting the passes in the paint but Utah is very good at it. I believe this a very ingenious new way to play transitions.
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Point Guards Run The Show

This NBA playoffs debute was the stage of great point guards performances. Wether their teams won or lost point guards have marked these 1st games

Rose break the record for points scored for a rookie
Bulls point guard Rose broke the Kareem Abdul Jabbar record for most points score by a rookie for his playoffs debute. With 36 points, Rose was the main reasons why the Bulls upset the Celtics. He was efficient and led the bulls, despite a great performance of Rajan Rondo.

Billups Scores 36
Billups is far from being a rookie but scored 8 3-pointers to get 36 points, and the Nuggets dominated the Hornets. Chris Paul played pretty well, but couldn't do nothing against Billups.

Williams with 17 assits
Deron Williams also broke a personnal record by delivering 17 assists for only 2 turnovers. The Jazz couldn't compete with the Lakers that were too strong in the paint for Utah that played without Okur.

Other honorable performances by Andre Miller and others. But as you could see PGs were hot this week end
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Lakers Beat The Jazz

I have just seen the end of the Los Angeles Lakers- Utah Jazz game. Los Angeles seems very impressive. At no occasions we have seen Utah able to win against Kobe's team. Despite a great Deron Williams, which had his assist record in playoffs with 17, Utah hasn't been able to get in a great paint, where Odom and Gasol dominated defensively. They've stopped Millsap and Brewer from getting in the paint, disrupting Utah's flow. Kobe did a good job offensively, but what impressed me the most was the balanced offense of the Lakers. The ball was turning well even though Utah was very aggressive on the defensive end.



Utah could have done a better job offensivelly but they had too few 3 points going through.



Good game, but you could expect the lakers to win that series easilly.

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Iverson's Season Is Over

Allen Iverson's season is finally over. Whereas the ex star of the Sixers made the headlines last week as he was expressing his concerns about starting games on the bench, Iverson's might miss to the Pistons for the playoffs.



Now don't get me wrong. As a matter of fact I am still considering that it was great news for Detroit not to see Iverson coming back, because the team finally found its chemestry while Iverson was out. But it is sad. Because we all know Iverson is an experienceed players and owns great one on one skills that could help the Pistons to win important games.



In my mind there is no doubts Iverson won't be back next year since he would have been a bench player if he'd have had go on this season and have expressed he wasn't ok with that situation. What is going to happen to Iverson. As Marbury has proen everybody wrong, and showed he could become a great role player, Iverson has failed to show that. He was put in a situation where he was for the first time in a potential nba champioship team, but could not adjust his game.



That will be interesting to see if some teams in this league might be interested by AI. I bet on a return to Phily, for a marketing purpose mainly.

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Is It Safe For Washington To Count On Arenas?

Gilbert Arenas is for sure coming back this week in the NBA after an injury that took him out of the court for almost the whole season. Arenas is a great players but has been injured for the past three seasons. His injury enabled some other players of the team, lile Blount or Jamison to reveal their talent.

But Arenas remain the core piece of this team, and one of the best player of this league. Nevertheless, his injury issues is a real problem for the organisation. As the most paid player of the roster, it is difficult for the Wizzard to be competitive. That reminds me of Grant Hill when he was at Orlando. What should have been the most promising team in the league with McGrady, Ewing, Hill and a bunch of other player, has never been able to recover from the different injuries Hill got.

I wish the best Arenas, one of my favorite player thanks to his impressive shooting skills. But I wonder about his chances to compete in a near future.
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Atlanta To Become NBA Contender

We are talking a lot in the Eastern conference about the Celtics, the Cavs and the Magics, but we are occulting the Hawks.

However, the Hawks own one of the most promising team in the NBA. They've frightened the Celtics last year, while they were one game close to upset the future NBA champion. They are this year also in the race to get the home court advantage for the first round of the playoff. I think people forget that last year they ere at the 8th spot, which shows how much they improved this year. They've been way more consistent this year during the regular season, which Hawks have been struggling with for years (even during Dikembe Mutumbo's era they had problems).

Now the team is young, and have some players getting fully mature. I am thinking about Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby that are approaching the 30s, and are leading a bunch of great young players.

They have great inside presence with soon to become All Star Al Hortford, shooting skills with Bibby and Johnson, and athletic skills with Smith.

Now what do they miss to become a true potential NBA champion? Of course, the center position is week, especially in a conference where Dwight Howard is ruling, but we all know how difficult it is to get a great center in this league. Moreover, Hortford can become a dominating PF that could secure the paint both offensively and defensively.

I believe they might lack of a veteran that could help the team during the money time in the playoff, and probably someone able top defend at the PG position, as we all know Mike Bibby is some kind of short in this field. A kind of Dereck Fisher would be great for example.

Now I am eager to see how far in the playoffs this team can go. If they get the 4th or the 5th spot, which more likely to happen, I believe they'll face Miami. I think they have some great possibilities to beat such a team. I am sure Wade will make great performances to lead his team, but Miami's roster isn't deep enough to face the Hawks balanced offense.

That will be interesting to follow anyways.
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Pistons Fans Pray For Iverson Not To Come Back

Iverson finally practices the morning of the Pistons game against the Clippers. It seems he's recovering from a back injury that pushed him out of the competition for weeks. Nevertheless, the Pistons seemed to perform pretty well without the all star. Moreover, as Rip Hamilton got back his starting role, he's been amazing. Also young PG Will Bynum had the very same day against the Clippers a great night, scoring 22 points.

Since Iverson joined Detroit the team seemed to go in limbo, never able to recover from their playmaker Billups departure nor to find a way to get Iverson to suit in the roster.

What is going to happen when Iverson is going to play back? This is very dangerous for a team that is still struggling and found the resources to play without him.
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Sam Mitchell Should Go to the Wolves

Sam mitchell is probably one of the best coach currently unactive, and some rumors would send him to the Wolves. He answered the questions telling he isn't thinking about it because Kevin McHale is currently holding the position.

Let's not forget Mchale took the spot during the season because the former coach has been fired. Mc Hale has been for years the general manager of Minnesota and had great success with themM
. He's responsible of the arrival of Kevin Garnett, Marbury, Cassel and turned the Wolves from one of the worst team in the league into an NBA contender not so long ago.
I believe he's more efficient in this role and should let the coaching position to a most experienced person. And Mitchell would be a perfect fit. He knows the franchise as he's been paying there many years. Also his team-first and defensive philosophy would suit perfectly. Mitchell, has shown he was a great coach and able to make a team play well on both end of the court.

I wish the Wolves are considering him for next season
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Not So Easy To Plan for 2010

2010 will probably be one of the most important free agency of the history of the NBA. Hence a lot of teams which are struggling right now are looking forward to this date to get an all star in order to become an NBA championship contender.

Among the best, Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash will be free in less than 2 years.

What also participate to this big buzz is that big cities are struggling right now. We all know big towns like New York, Chicago, Detroit or New Jersey could offer great exposure and raise the merchant value of players.

Nevertheless, one of the key factor these players will consider prior to making a decision is the team's competitiveness to win a NBA titles. A lot of teams, especially the Knicks and the Pistons, are making a bunch of deals to get some salary cap space. They are also checking out players that would be a good fit if Lebron is coming in town.

Though, it is difficult to put all your eggs in the same basket: if you can't get James, and that your team has been set up for his arrival, how are you going to compose your roster?

What makes it difficult is that the best players available are all playing at a different position: PG(steve Nash), SG (Dwayne Wade), SF (james) PF (Bosh) and center (Stoudemire). If you get your team ready for Lebron, meaning you get a great point guard and peoplz that are good down the paint, that would be difficult to get Bosh in the best conditions to get a NBA title. That is all the problems GMs have to face.
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Is Greg Oden A Deception

When Greg Oden was drafted as the first pick of last year draft a lot of people was considering that his athleticism would turn him soon as one of the biggest star in the Nba. But instead Oden started with a deceiving summerc camp that led to a big injury that prevent him from playing the whole year. This new season people expected a lot of the center, thinking he would finally shine with a surprising Blazers team.



Instead, Greg Oden is struggling on the offensive side, because of the speed of the game. Nevertheless I am not really surprised about what is happening. Hence, Oden might have the best body in the league, he remains very young, and hasn't been able during his NCAA career to show some technical moves. The NCAA lacks big time of great center because most of the most gifted tall players go right to the NBA nowadays (Garnett, Howard, Kwame Brown among others). The level is biased, and Oden probably took advantage of it while playing in college.



Moreover, let's not forget he experienced a big injury, that it is difficult to come back from. He might be lucky to be young and having been able to fully recovered from it, but he still lacks of competition for a year.



I am not really concerned about Oden's future. I believe he could still become a great player. But I remain sceptic about his offensive skills and expect him to take his time before becoming an all star. Centers are always at their best around their 30s, and Oden has still long way to go through.

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Financial Crisis To Fasten Franchises Moves

For the first time ever the sport business has to go through a financial crisis. And for the first time in the NBA we can see the impact. First, it forced some NBA teams to make deals in order to lower their salary expenses. But now, franchises that were struggling on an economical point of view seems to need fresh air.

The first franchises to break the news was the Pacers, one of the finest franchise, which is settling in basketball land, the state of Indidana. Then we learnt this week the Kings were considering moving out of Sacramento, probably down to Anaheim. Also, new rumors emerged, that the Nets would indeed go to Brooklyn pretty soon.

I believe this crisis and these decisions are correlated. Clubs that don't have an healthy financial situation are the first one to seek for new opportunities. I have actually noticed that these past few years a lot of teams changed their hometown: Vancouver, New Orleans, and Seattle. We haven't been accustomed to that in the 90s nor 80s. I believe the NBA franchises are struggling being profitable, which appears now during this crisis.
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Drew Gooden To The Spurs

Former Cavs Drew Gooden has recently signed with the Spurs. This is a great news for San Antonio that lights up a little bit more their chances to win the title this year.



What I particularly appreciate in that move is that Drew Gooden brings something inside that the Spurs didn't reallu get since David Robinson retired: scoring skills down the paint.



Oberto and Thomas are great defenders and able to take advantage of the space created by Ginobili Parker and Duncan, but didn't have the skills to play one on one and be a constant offensive threat.



That will probably help Duncan to get more space for his one on one game. Now the Spurs own one of the deepest roster at the center/pf position. Great news for the playoffs.

Steve Nash To The New York Knicks?

We all know how great Steve Nash played under Mike D'Antoni's era in Phoenix. The difficulties that Phoenix is experiencing, which could cause them to not participate to the playoff, might help the Knicks to get the Canadian.

Steve Nash's contract might be terminated in order to save salary cap space and to rebuild the team for the next seasons. The Suns have loaded their roster with big salaries of veteran stars like Nash, O'Neal or Stoudemire and don't get the result expected. The short term plan to win a title this year has been a failure, and Nash might end up looking for a new team.

Newspapers have determined two main options for the MVP. The first, and actually the most probable one, is he'll try to play for the Raptors. He's alwas been considering playing back in his home country, and the raptors have a collective kind of play he will suit perfectly in. Also, I think it will turn this team into a real NBA contender.

The second possibility would be him joining the Knicks. The Knicks are coached by Mike D'Antony and we all know these two ones highly appreciate each other. Also, the Knicks have an ambitious plan for 2010. One of the Knicks weakness has been at the PG position where Duhon has shown unconsistency and Robinson isn't a true playmaker. That could convince Nash to make some salary concession, especially because he remains one of the cheapest star in the NBA (I believe his salary is around 10 millions).

We'll have further information within the next few weeks.
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The Jamaal Crawford And Don Nelson Affair

Former New York Knicks star Jamaal Crawford has been traded for Al Harrington couple of months ago to the Golden State Warriors.

The Warriors have been deceiving all year long, and have never been able to heal Baron Davis' departure nor the injury of Monta Ellis who was supposed to become the star of the franchise. As the team is questioning itself about what kind of directions they'll take for next year, Don Nelson seems to not count on Crawford.

According to multiple sources Nelson would have told Crawford he should opt out at the end of the season or he'd be traded and this, after he hasn't played last week for the team as Nelson decided to rest some of his starters to I've a chance to youngster.

The fact Crawford is not part of Golden State future plan does make sens. The teams have plenty of shooters able to run the floor, and probably have other kind of issues, especially their defense and frontcourt. I still didn't really understand the move, especially because the Warriors already owned an all star caliber person at the SG position (Ellis).

But I still find Nelson's unproper. Crawford has never been willing to leave New York, nor to play for Nelson, and is still getting pretty good figures with his new team. He is not responsible of Warriors management mistake. I believe asking a player to opt out is really out of place especially while the season isn't over. Instead of putting pressure on Crawford Nelson should accept its mistake and try to make the best out of the team he has.

I have always liked Crawford. Not because I think he's among the best at his position, but he's always been consistent at what he knows the best: scoring and shooting. The only good news is that he might be interested in coming back to New York next season, for a lower salary, if he actually opt out. That would be a great news as Crawford has been for years the best scorer of the Knicks prior to his departure, and that the shooting guard position is the weakest of the Knicks roster. Moreover, he would suit well for the plan of getting Lebron James as he's a great scorer which could taker advantage of the space created by James and put pressure out of the star offensivelly.

I wish the best for Crawford, and strongly condemned Nelson's behavior, which is unethical and unprofessional.
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Welcome on the NBA News Blog

Welcome on the NBA News Blog. I have been a fan of NBA since my early age, and already owned a previous blog speaking about the NBA (in French) in the past. I gave it up because of my lack of time. I also own another successful blog, about marketing, retailing and customer relationship management. Now, I own a Blackberry handheld, and I thought it was the perfect occasion to catch up with my passions of discussing about the NBA. Feel free to be part of the discussion, I'll be delighted to chat with you.

Once more welcome, I hope you'll enjoy your reading.
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