- At Hickory-High, Ian Levy asked readers to pick the MVP based on statistics alone. No names. Yesterday he revealed the results: LeBron James in a landslide.
- Tony Parker has been mentioned as an MVP candidate, which he says makes him laugh.
- On Twitter, Jeremy Lin calls Mike D'Antoni "truly a class act who will be missed."
- This is excellent, Milwaukee-based analysis of the Andrew Bogut for Monta Ellis trade. But it highlights the insanity of NBA rules. As in, it seems like the Bucks got better. Which may be exactly why that was a bad trade. Frank Madden of BrewHoop writes that the improvement from this trade "is unlikely to deliver much more than a swift first round exit at the hands of the Bulls -- and all the Chicago fans who would inevitably invade the Bradley Center. Is that progress? Reasonable people will disagree, and for the Bucks' front office it's almost a no-win situation. John Hammond and company are under significant pressure to win games now and get casual fans interested again, yet many hardcore fans have been understandably clamoring for the team to hit the reset button: add picks, deal away some of the team's depth (Ersan Ilyasova, Beno Udrih, etc), and focus on remaking the core even if it means losing games."
- Speaking of that, the Raptors are now most assuredly playing for lottery balls, right? In that they are joined by, what, eight teams? Ten? As teams get more strategic in their thinking, more NBA games will become unwatchable, like last night's Raptors vs. Nets. (And if you're going to tell me that Gerald Green's amazing dunk made that game watchable, I'd nod and point out that the fact he's playing at all is proof positive the Nets are tanking.) Jeff Van Gundy has your fix.
- John Hollinger with a HUGE point: The Timberwolves are short of point guards. David Kahn laughs at all of you who laughed so hard at him for drafting too many. Also, Hollinger has some love for one of Kahn's former point guards: "I like Michael Beasley better than some people, but I'd still take Ramon Sessions over him a hundred times out of a hundred. Make it 101 given L.A.'s situation."
- Arsenalist of Raptors Republic says asking James Johnson to create his own offense is "like asking someone to assemble Ikea furniture without the manual."
- "The Montegrin invasion is upon us."
- Shameful! Caught on video: Players not shooting when they should. I'm being serious, it is shameful. Really. And it's a HoopIdea.
- File this under "things that would never have happened in Philadelphia." Dwyane Wade's dad was booted from the United Center for swearing?
- Celebrities at the ready with bracket help.
- Back-to-back Blake Griffin free throw airballs send chills through analytical Clipper fans.
- Jason Terry says he is auditioning for his next contract every night out. I guess we knew that, but it's rare to hear it.
- Just another day for JaVale McGee against the Mavericks, writes Adam McGinnis on Truth About It: "Couple sick slams, blooper pass and missed dunk for blogosphere to mock, and a crucial air ball jumper that ended the Wizards’ chance for a comeback. JaVale must have called him Brenda at some point because ex-teammate Brandan Haywood clocked him in the head with a cheap screen when game was basically over."
- Pacers vs. Sixers is quietly emerging as a rivalry that matters. They are close in the standings and on track to meet in the playoffs. If they do, they're two evenly matched teams that play really hard.
- The Rockets have some trade chips.
Henry Abbott | email
TrueHoop, NBA- Senior writer for ESPN.com
- Founder of TrueHoop blog and network
- Began writing about NBA for magazines in 1999
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 Henry AbbottTrueHoop | ESPN @TrueHoop |
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