Toronto
at Denver

This could truly be a fun one.

Sure, the Keon Clark Cup
(sorry, Kevin Willis) could get ugly, but I’m more interested in two teams
trying to establish themselves amongst the muck of their respective
conferences.

(As they had to, about this time, seven years ago. And
you’ve guessed correctly; because if nostalgia is a carrot, then for some
reason, my carrot’s been deep fried and served with bleu cheese. I can’t lay
off.)

Here’s what’s current: Chauncey Billups‘ slow offensive
start with Denver
has still left him with a 22 PER,
and his defense and leadership is as Billups-y as ever. Chris Bosh is
everyone’s favorite non-MVP MVP candidate, killing while still … channel 752!
Wade just tossed in a lefty scoop!

(Did you see what was happening in Wizards/Cavs? LeBron has
32/9/9 just shooting with his left hand, passing with his right foot, and
rebounding with his eyes! And it’s the third quarter!)

OK, so, Chris Bosh is a step short, in relative terms. He
isn’t quite on their level. That doesn’t mean he isn’t blowing us away, and
that certainly doesn’t mean the Raptors don’t have potential. No big man has
been a better watch this year, and that includes Amare Stoudemire.

The Nuggets? They’ll just mess you up. They walk it up, now.
Kenyon Martin will shove you when the referees turn away to send the foul call
to the scorer’s table, and J.R. Smith’s tattoos are on Dita Von Teese’s bucket
list.

(Yes, I had to Yahoo! search Dita’s
correct spelling, and I’m going to try to squeeze that image search into my
expense reports next month. Damages you wouldn’t believe, Mr. Irreverent …)

Seriously? This should be a fantastic game. Two squads with
a bunch to figure out (in spite of the consistent winning from one end, and the
consistent mediocrity from another) who tend to smack of up-tempo teams but
prefer to be patient with things.

(Or, not. It could be a blowout. The Nuggets have won 67
percent of their 18 games. How badly have we underestimated Chauncey Billups?)

Denver Nuggets: 12-6, 94.4 possessions per
game (6^th-most in the NBA), 106 points scored per 100 possessions
(16^th), 103.2 points allowed per 100 possessions (9^th). Love Spreads.

Toronto Raptors:
8-8, 90.8 possessions per game (21^st), 106.6 points scored per 100
possessions (14^th), 108.4 points scored per 100 possessions (24^th).
I Wanna Be Adored.

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His name is Dwight. He is a fighter from the United States of America. He train all his life and he never lose. Soon he fight Ivan Drago, The Siberian Express, and the world will see his defeat. Soon, the whole world will know his name. Superman.

Thanks to BDL reader Andy for the link. I’m sure Bill Simmons really enjoyed that.

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A look around the league and the web that covers it. It’s also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren’t always listed in order of importance. That’s for you, dear reader, to figure out.

C: The Blowtorch. Robin and Brook Lopez play basketball against each other, like, for realsies.
PF: Talking Points. Dubs’ ownership, management and Don Nelson are on-board with a non-playoff year.
SF: Red’s Army, via ShareBro Jeff. Paul Pierce: "I’ve always been the Rodney Dangerfield of this game."
SG: Indy Cornrows. Don of Don’s Guns has some pretty sage advice for pro athletes toting guns to clubs.
PG: Hugging Harold Reynolds. Nets CEO downplays the Nets’ chances of landing LeBron James in 2010.
6th: Eric Musselman’s Basketball Notebook. Notes and observations on the Lakers’ triangle offense.
7th: X’s and O’s. This one’s for KD: A look at the Nuggets’ new and improved man defense.
8th: Need4Sheed. Jason Maxiell kissed a girl … and he liked it … the taste of her cherry chapstick …
9th: The Sporting Blog. Could the Wizards be Stephon Marbury’s ideal destination?
10th: Bend It Like Bennett. "Scotty Brooks etched his name into history this weekend by becoming the
Thunder’s all-time winningest head coach, tying the mark previously set
by Thunder legend PJ Carlesimo. There were approximately 156 people on
hand in Memphis to witness the event."

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Leave it to the Knicks to turn Stephon Marbury into a
sympathetic figure.

OK, maybe not "sympathetic" or "understandable" or even "worth
our time," but how the Knicks managed to botch the simplest of solutions to a
rather nasty (if not somewhat common, to the NBA) problem is beyond me.

Why didn’t they just tell Stephon Marbury to go home last
October? Or even last September? Or last week? Why didn’t they do it, and tell
us that it was for good this time, this morning?

Think about it. As of October 29^th, Marbury was
still in uniform on the Knicks bench, with the expectation to play. That’s just
over a month ago. How nutty does that sound now?

Well, it should have sounded nutty back then. And it was
pretty darned nutty just bringing Marbury to training camp to begin with, much
less playing him in seven preseason games. It was ridiculous just to bring him
into media day, where
this happened.

We know why the Knicks want Marbury around. It isn’t to
play, that ship has flown, it’s to at least warm themselves to the idea of
getting something out of a player who they’re paying nearly $21 million to this
season. And that would be admirable had the Knicks not had almost five years to
prepare for this reality. Name any coach, any context, any style of play, and any
win/loss percentage, and you knew Steph was going to end up like this, in this
exact season.

Because it’s his last season with a big contract. His last year with any juice,
even if he’s barely played for two years. You knew it was going to happen.
Steph was going to run out of excuses after a while. Minnesota’s too cold. I’m not the star. I’m
not paid as much as the star. I’m all alone in New Jersey. It’s not New York. The coach doesn’t understand me in
Phoenix. My
teammates aren’t good enough in New
York. My coach hates me, no matter what I do. I’m not
healthy. I just found Jesus, give me a second. I’m good with the Jesus stuff,
and that’s factorial, but Isiah hates me. Coach D’Antoni hates me. It’s not my
fault.

You knew it was going to come to a head, this year. Any NBA
observer with half a brain would.

And the Knicks have had all this time to do something about
it. Could have tried to trade his expiring deal for a few contracts that could
keep them competitive and expire in 2010. Could have bought him out for the
exact amount of his deal and watched Steph ruined the Heat or ruined the Suns
and moped his way out of the rotation in another city. Because you know, in
spite of the two good weeks that would precede it, that’s what was going to
happen.

But the Knicks are different and better and smarter than
you. And they’re not the Pacers, who told Ron Artest and Jamaal Tinsley to go
away under Donnie Walsh, because they know better than you, and they know
better than the Pacers. They didn’t know enough not to hire Isiah Thomas, who
the Pacers fired, but that’s in the past. We’re moving on. It’s a new era.

Except they’re not moving on. They’re making good moves and
hiring the right people, but they still want to work under their own set of
rules. And that means keeping Stephon around, working under a coach that
loathes him, and acting haughty and taken aback when he refuses to go on the
court against the Bucks.

Steph should have gone on the court. When you’re making
nearly $21 million a year, you go on the court, you play your ass off, you earn
your money, and you utilize your constitutional right to bitch and moan to the
assembled media after the game. And that would have increased his martyrdom,
his stature, and given him more than a passing scintilla of respect from us.

But that plan doesn’t make sense to Steph, because he plays
by his own rules. Or thinks that he should, even when he’s not allowed to. He
was born to be a Knick.

One of the blues songs I’m sure James Dolan and his Tube Screamer have
mangled at some point is B.B. King’s "Paying the Cost To Be the
Boss," and I’m sure he thinks he’s doing a fine job at it. Both in nailing
that solo, and paying the cost to be the boss. Problem is, I don’t think he
understands what costs what, and what being a leader actually means. In fact,
I’m sure of it.

Being a leader, a boss, means communicating with your entire
organization, from top to bottom. And if you haven’t the time to drop a line,
then your actions speak for themselves. And being a boss means making a series
of decisions that, while they may seem abhorrent and revolting to your very
core, are the best for the organization that you are in charge of.

And does anyone think that this pathetic battle between the
organization and their spoiled brat of a 31-year old point guard is the best
for the Knicks? Even if this team is biding its time until 2010? Even if nobody
will remember this in a year’s time?

Hells no. Not only is Stephon’s very presence an unwelcome
throwback to the most disastrous executive reign in post-ABA pro basketball
history (if not for all time, given the stakes), but his treatment is more
proof that the head still stinks in New York, and that it is business as usual
with the Knicks.

No amount of cap space can shake that stigma.

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I knew things were a little rough in Phoenix right now, but I had no idea it was arts and crafts time.

Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic explains the inspiration behind our new Photoshop contest:

It was not a scrapbooking party but the Suns did break out the scissors and paste when they gathered for a meeting Saturday. It was more bonding exercise than power meeting with staff and management. It lasted 30 minutes, with the product being collage posters they made about togetherness that were put on the locker room wall.

Incredible. Your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is this: create a Phoenix Suns collage.

We’re looking for humor over quality here, but those that exhibit both will probably win a TBJ t-shirt or video game. Send your submissions to me — jeskeets@yahoo.ca — with "Suns Photoshop" in the subject and your files named as FirstnameLastname.jpg (mine would be JESkeets.jpg, for example).

Send ‘em by this weekend, and the gallery of Suns’ inspiration will be posted early next week. Chop-chop!

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