NBA Picks and Trade Talk

By Dan Rodgers

I want to give a quick opinion on a few of the more notable trades that were pulled off in the NBA:

Wizards get: Nene, Brian Cook, future 2nd rounder
Clippers get: Nick Young
Nuggets get: JaVale McGee, Ronny Turiaf

This trade puzzled me because I'm not quite sure what the Wiz had in mind. They gave LA a young scorer to help replace Billups. They helped the Nuggets get younger and more athletic at the forward/center position. The Wizards got a quality veteran center, but they aren't in a win-now mode. Good move for LA/Denver, we will have to wait and see for Washington.

The Lakers situation is complicated because they pulled one trade to acquire Ramon Sessions and one to get rid of Derek Fisher. The Lakers didn't give up much in the trades talent-wise, but they did give up lottery protected first round picks. Still, Fisher is old and was a defensive liability. Sessions gives them more athleticism on both ends of the floor.

Warriors get: Andrew Bogut, Stephen Jackson
Bucks get: Monta Ellis, Kwame Brown, Ekpe Udoh

If Bogut can stay healthy, the Warriors will greatly benefit from this deal. They have a ton of scorers and could afford to deal Ellis. Bogut will solidify the defense in the paint and allow David Lee to play the four all the time. The Bucks dealt their injury-prone center for a scorer to complement Brandon Jennings. I think the deal is much safer for the Bucks but fairly even all-around.

Rockets get: Marcus Camby
Blazers get: Hasheem Thabeet, Johnny Flynn, 2012 second round pick

This deal presents incredible upside for the Blazers. They traded a 38-year-old center for a 25-year-old center and a 23-year-old guard, both of whom showed flashes of greatness in college. Thabeet hasn't been too much of an opportunity so he isn't a bust yet. Flynn averaged over 13 ppg and 4 apg as a rookie and hasn't been given a fair chance since then. Not to mention, who knows about the draft pick. Houston is clearly in a win-now mode, while Portland probably thinks they can win now and get younger at the same time. I think Houston might have been trade-raped... but only time will tell.

Picks:

Cleveland Cavaliers @ Philadelphia 76ers -9 = The 76ers get Andre Iguodala back tonight and Spencer Hawes is returning to form since returning from injury. The Cavs aren't a very good team and have lost three in a row. Starting center Anderson Varejao is still out with an injury and Jamison will be playing hurt. Philly hasn't been as good since their hot start, and needs to get these important home wins over bad teams as they are in a tight division race with the Celtics. I think Philly blows out the Cavs tonight as the Sixers have the youth to run with the Cavs and the experience to outlast them and pull away.

Minnesota Timber Wolves @ Memphis Grizzlies -5.5 = The Grizz have beaten the Wolves at home nine out of the last 10 times, including six in a row. Memphis lost the first three game of their road trip before posting an impressive win at the Lakers. They should carry that momentum back home as Minnesota will be without their starting center Pekovic and likely J.J. Barea as well. They will also obviously be without Ricky Rubio who is out for the season with a torn ACL. I think that Memphis found their stroke against LA and should go to work offensively against a Minnesota team that has allowed at least 100 points in four out of their last five games.

Enjoy the NIT games as well...

Rodgers That

It's been slow...

By Dan Rodgers

Sorry for not posting for a few days, I was out of town... hopefully you did OK without me. Since the NCAA tournament is only Thursday through Sunday, the in between days are slow. Below you'll find my thoughts on a few games tonight.

NBA

Los Angeles Clippers @ Indiana Pacers -3.5 = This game puzzles me. Lob City is coming off a game in which they barely beat the Pistons in overtime, and their offense is struggling mightily. The Pacers had back-to-back losses to the apparently surging Knicks, but they beat Philly before that. They aren't struggling to score point and shouldn't have any issue against this Clippers squad. Indiana matches up well as they have bigs inside and capable shooters on the outside; however, LA does have Chris Paul and that could pose problems if the Pacers match him against Darren Collison. I still think the Pacers have no problem and win this one big. CORRECT - we coasted to an easy victory in this one...

Los Angeles Lakers @ Houston Rockets +3 = This is another very confusing line. The Rockets are a very good home team, while the Lakers have really struggled on the road this season, especially in comparison to the past. The Rockets have lost two in a row, but both were on the road. The Lakers had won five in a row before a home letdown to the Jazz. While they haven't had issues scoring, I think that Houston's home-court advantage will be enough to cover and possibly win outright. CORRECT - the Rockets dominated the fourth quarter and were able to pull out the win.

Best of luck. Expect posts in the coming days regarding my thoughts about the NBA trades that went down and my take on the Peyton Manning situation in Denver.

Rodgers That

S.S. Review and a pick

By Dan Rodgers

Please refer to the previous post for my initial take on the selections...

The only game I've really liked today is the late game in the NBA.

Golden State Warriors @ Los Angeles Clippers -7.5 = Lob City is coming off one of their best offensive games of the season. They are starting a home stand and look to win back to back games for the first time in about a month. Golden State is coming off of an impressive win against the defending champs, but I think they hit a wall here. The Clippers match up will well with the Warriors and the last time they faced Golden State at home they won by 19. I think they coast to another easy victory.

I'll be breaking down the play-in games tomorrow and we are going to jump right into predictions.

Rodgers That

The King of where?

By Dan Rodgers

This is just an introductory post to what is going to happen this summer. What many are saying is the most impressive free agent class in NBA history.

The Cleveland Cavaliers lost last night in the conference semi-finals to the Boston Celtics. That means that LeBron James, along with the rest of the Cavs player's, season is over. Which means that in a month and a half, LBJ will become a free agent along with players: Ray Allen, Joe Johnson, D-Wade, and Chris Bosh to name a few.

Now, since this is an intro post, all I'm going to say is that by rule the Cavaliers can only offer a maximum deal of six years worth around $125 million. Any other team is only allowed to go as high as five years worth around $95 million. So the Cavs to have the edge, or do they?

Other teams mentioned to be interested are the Knicks, Bulls, Nets, and Clippers. All of those teams have some reason that would be good for LBJ, but we are just going to leave it at that for now. Check back later in the summer for more on this historic free agent class.

Rodgers That