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The most dramatic shot of the Las Vegas Summer League came at the buzzer of the 58th and final game -- a side-winding heave by Mark Tyndale to give the D-League Select a 79-78 win over the Clippers:

• How will Larry Sanders' game fit in with Milwaukee's existing parts? His sound face-up 18-footer will help a Bucks offense that was choked for open space in the half court. He also gives Brandon Jennings another dependable partner on the pick-and-roll and wins almost every race to the rim in transition. A Sanders-Andrew Bogut tandem could eventually constitute the best defensive frontcourt in the league. Milwaukee is unlikely to reach the highest echelon in the East with its firepower, but by blanketing the paint with two capable pick-and-roll defenders who can block shots and clean the glass, the Bucks have the makings of a team that could post a stingy defensive efficiency rating in the high 90s.
• Luke Babbitt will be a deadly catch-and-shoot threat and will give Portland the spacing it needs when he's on the floor at either forward spot. On dribble-drives, Babbitt's handle is strong enough, but he had trouble finishing at the rim this week through traffic. In his final game, Babbitt made an adjustment. He was still aggressive off the dribble, but looked to draw and absorb contact. Babbitt got to the stripe eight times (8-for-8) after earning only 13 attempts in his first four games.
• After turning the ball over 28 times in his first four games, Clippers point guard Eric Bledsoe put together a heady, controlled performance against the D-League Select team. He changed speeds and read the defense beautifully off high ball screens from Rod Benson -- bursting into the paint only when invited, and making smart passes or drawing contact when the defense converged. He scored 13 points (6-for-10 from the field), grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists against three turnovers.
• The Spurs bludgeoned the Grizzlies by sticking Benetton Treviso guard Gary Neal in the left corner and creating open looks for him off drive-and-kicks or curls. When sets broke down for the Spurs, Neal was the safety valve. He hit 6-of-9 attempts from beyond the arc in the first half.
• Greivis Vasquez finished up an unremarkable week at the point for Memphis. Never has so much dribbling produced so few results.
• DeMarre Carroll, who has also struggled this week, looked more like the active, versatile forward whose intensity gave the Griz a jolt of energy at selective moments last season. He looked most comfortable at the 3 on Sunday.
• It's not unusual for a player to take a tour with one team in summer league and then hook on with another squad after the first team finishes up or has gotten a sufficient glimpse of him. Sun Yue started summer league with the Wizards, then moved over to the Bucks midway through the schedule. Meanwhile, Gary Forbes played sparingly with Houston, then got a call from the Clippers, who wanted to get a look at his game.
• At 6-foot-9, Wayne Chism defends all over the floor, fights through perimeter screens, keeps the ball moving and will battle -- even if he doesn't excel -- as a post defender. If he can get a little stretchier with his range, he could help out an NBA team in the future as a thinking man's Brian Cook.
• Yaroslav Korolev was in action against the Clippers, the team that drafted him in 2005 with the 12th overall pick. Now 23 years old, the 6-foot-9 Korolev has filled out and looks the part of the rangy, athletic all-purpose forward, but he still lacks an intuitive rhythm for the game. Against a small Clippers lineup, Korolev could've been a strong defensive presence, but he's far too timid as a helper. Offensively, he's decisive only as a spot-up shooter from distance. The closer he ventures to the basket, the less assertive he is.

• John Krolik of Cavs: The Blog on Omar Samhan: "Samhan has really worked on that pick-and-pop jump shot, and it's looked good throughout his time in Vegas. When he can get his feet set, he's very comfortable -- it's a very natural shot for him. He went 0-10 from the three-point line during his time at St. Mary's, but earlier today he stepped out behind the college three-point line and calmly swished one. He told me earlier in the week that he's working on extending his range to the NBA three, and he's making strides in that direction. Hopefully he performs well in Lithuania."
• New rule for Las Vegas Summer League 2010: Defenses are required to implement a full-court press for at least three possessions per half.

Posted by Royce Young

• In case you missed it in today's Daily Dime, Mike Woodson and the Hawks plan on filing a protest to the league over last night's shot clock miscue: "I'm not going to comment on it at this time. We're just going to file a protest, without a doubt let the league review it at the two-minute mark, and then see what they think ... Well, we've got a one-point lead and with the ball going our way, and we're rushing to get a shot because the clock is not in our favor? You figure it out."

• Brett LaGree of Hoopinion on the "malfunction": "On one hand, the Hawks' behavior on this possession is fairly typical of their second half possessions as a whole. That the Hawks were initiating their halfcourt offense relatively late in the shot clock was not, in and of itself, unusual. None of which negates the fact that the officials should have noticed a ten-second discrepancy on the shot clock, that the shot clock should have reset, or that the Hawks should have noticed and said something (or called a timeout) at the time rather than one possession later."

• Interesting note from John Krolik of Cavs The Blog: Last night was the first time in four tries the Cavs won on LeBron's birthday. In fact, they've never even won the game before LeBron's birthday.

• Counting down the 10 most influential Pistons of the decade.

• Video breakdown of three crucial possessions in the Clippers-Blazers game including two big 3-pointers by Steve Blake. Kevin Arnovitz adds this note: "Baron, like a lot of point guards, spends most of his time playing the ball and is less instinctive defending off it. He’s drawn to the ball, but his man, Blake, functions as a wing on this set. I suppose you could say that, as a defensive unit, you can never have too many bodies between Roy and the basket given the personnel out there for Portland. But the better play by Baron here is to squeeze Blake and, at the very least, make it a much tougher pass."

• Hey, did you guys know the Raptors have won five straight?

• Michael Schwartz of Valley of the Suns says Phoenix may have gotten its swagger back after the big win over Boston: "A couple months down the line when we look back on the Dec. 30 game on Phoenix’s schedule, “Suns 116, Celtics 98” will look much better than it was in real life. The game notes say the Suns joined last year’s world champion Lakers as the only teams to sweep a season series from the Celtics before the Big Three joined up prior to the 2007-08 campaign. But anybody who watched this game knows that the Suns beat a woefully undermanned Boston team missing Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce that wouldn’t contend for the eighth spot in the East with the lineup they threw out there."

• If you haven't checked out Hoopdata, you should right now. Like stop reading and check it out. You can spend hours just staring at the awesome advanced box scores. Tom Haberstoh had an interesting piece yesterday about how the Lakers give up the most shots at the rim: "The Lakers allow 29.9 shot attempts per game from at the rim but opponents only convert 57.5 percent of these shots, which ranks the sixth lowest in the league. So while the Lakers give up a lot of shot attempts at the rim, they are not necessarily easy buckets. Instead ... the Lakers defend the hoop by not fouling close to the basket and forcing opponents to shoot over trees in the form of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. In all likelihood, the Lakers utilize their length by standing tall to alter shots in the paint as opposed to overtly swatting lofted balls into the stands, given their league-average block rate, league-leading at rim shot frequency, and second-lowest opponent free throw rate."

• David Berri tries to explain the incredible disappointment that is the Washington Wizards. Cliff notes: Play better. He makes it sound so simple.

• This is from a few days ago, so you may have already seen it (it's already got some 110,000 views), but it's a must-watch. Tony Parker joins his wife Eva Longoria for a little Grease sing-along. In full Grease garb.

• Basketbawful noticed an interesting quote from Doc Rivers about the Celtics' 1-3 road trip. Said Rivers: "'The lesson that's learned on this trip is not from tonight. The lesson that we should learn on this trip is when you give away a game with the Clippers when you're healthy, then you do it again, then when you're injured you need those games back.' I love the fact that he singled out the Clippers and not the Warriors."

• An excellent retrospective of the decade in Nets basketball.

• Last night was the 19th anniversary of Scott Skiles' record-setting 30 assists in one game. He didn't sound too excited when he was asked about it after his Bucks lost to Orlando last night: "Obviously, it will be broken at some point," Skiles said. "No offense, but I'll be glad the day it is because I get tired of talking about it sometimes. It was one of those things. It all came together in one night. But, yeah, it'll be broken at some point."

• Zach Lowe of Celtics Hub explains how you assemble a strong 21st century defense. The recipe for success? Focus on the two areas in the half-court where opponents put up the highest effective field goal percentage: The 3-point line and the immediate basket area.
• Kurt Helin of Forum Blue & Gold explores what's eating Andrew Bynum.
• Capologist Larry Coon at the New York Times' Off the Dribble blog says that if Eddy Curry is willing to leave some money on the table, he's imminently buyout-able. The sticky point? Curry's player option.
• A pessimistic Jeremy Schmidt of Bucksketball sizes up the state of the Milwaukee Bucks as we head into 2010. Among Bucksketball's revelations: Contrary to popular belief, there's no evidence to suggest Scott Skiles hates rookies.
• The Painted Area presents its All-Underachiever Team for the decade.
• Sports Media Watch lists its five biggest NBA stories of the decade. At first blush, the list that seems a bit dated in current context, though it's easy to forget how much both the game and the league's persona has evolved over the past ten years.
• Rob Mahoney of Two Man Game enumerates all the reasons why Dallas' road win over Denver last night was extremely satisfying. Not only did the Mavs overcome Dirk Nowtizki's off night, but the Dallas defense brutalized one of the most potent offenses in the game. More than anything, though, when you watch Dallas you see a team of grown-ups that knows how to execute its stuff on both ends of the floor.
• Geoff Lepper of 48 Minutes.net wonders if Stephen Curry can learn to be a better defender.
• John Krolik of Cavs the Blog elaborates on how LeBron James deployed his emerging post game against an undersized Rockets team.
• Rahat Huq sounds the alarm on Trevor Ariza: "I just don’t understand what is going on with Ariza. I don’t want to just criticize; I want badly to just understand the rationale behind what is taking place. I just can’t think of any logical explanation as to why this player is being allowed to frequently attempt feats which he has absolutely no hope of achieving. It’s become mind boggling at this point. I have said many times that I am all for experimentation and player development. But these have to be within certain limits of realism. You play David Andersen despite his defensive troubles because he will improve. You live with Jermaine Taylor getting blocked at the rim because he will learn from it and adjust his shot. These are areas where players improve from in-game experience. Trevor Ariza cannot compensate for his complete and total lack of skill and body control with in-game experience. It just won’t happen. Letting him take in-game reps at creating off the dribble is completely counterproductive – he just can’t do it. Maybe he’ll improve over the summer, but affording him such a leash during the season is simply hurting this team."
• More great visuals from Kyle Weidie of Truth About It illustrating the Wizards' woes.
• Knicks highlights and lowlights from the decade, courtesy of Knickerblogger. Needless to say, the latter outweighs the former.
• Philadunkia poses that age-old conundrum for underachieving teams whose seasons appear over: At what point do you throw your rookie point guard into the deep end to see if he can swim rather than stick with your unexceptional, but proven veteran? Jrue Holiday and Willie Green are the respective players in questions.
• Cringe-worthy montage of various Sacramento Kings performing in-studio covers. (Hat Tip: Cowbell Kingdom)

Today marks the beginning of the NBA's third season -- the free agency chase and transactional bonanza. The Bucks have a mess on their hands with the departure of Charlie Villanueva. Meanwhile, Ben Gordon and the Bulls enter their third year of contract negotiations. 

Rob Mahoney of Hardwood Paroxysm: "In theory, you shouldn't let go of assets without compensation. C-Nuv is a fairly valuable player, as evidenced by the insane amount of money the Pistons will pay him shortly. But did the Bucks really have any call to re-sign him? Was there really any possibility that a non-star scorer should be at the core of this team, tying the purse strings and giving Scott Skiles an aneurysm? [Charlie] Villanueva is a better talent than [Ramon] Sessions, and one that fills what is likely a greater need in regards to both position and skill. Yet, when it came down to deciding between the two, the Bucks' hands were tied. Sessions isn't likely to receive anything more than the midlevel, while the subtle sexiness of Villanueva's game could net him some serious dough. I'm definitely of the opinion that he doesn't deserve that kind of cash to begin with, but that's not really the issue here. The market for Villanueva's services is about to be set, and we'll soon see that the Bucks never really stood a chance. Even if the Bucks reserved the right to match offers for Charlie, the decision was never really theirs. The Bucks' hands were tied when they signed Bobby Simmons to an absurd contract, when they gave Michael Redd more money than he was worth, and when they made Dan Gazuric the richest man ever named Dan Gadzuric. Some of that is mismanagement and some of it is the horrors of small market basketball, but all of it has ensured that Villanueva isn't sticking around with the Bucks."

Matt McHale of By the Horns: "Losing [Ben] Gordon -- his 20 PPG, his big shot-making ability, his enormous biceps -- would partially cripple the Bulls this season, even as it left them with some serious financial flexibility going into the already-fabled Summer of 2010 ... Keeping Gordon would almost certainly mean shipping off Kirk Hinrich, which would sort of make team defense the sacrificial lamb. And who, exactly, would back up Derrick Rose? A sign-and-trade involving Gordon is possible, too. Man, anything seems possible at this point. How long has Gordon's contract been an issue? Three straight summers now? ... However this thing ends, one thing is certain: The Baby Bulls Era is over. Team building blocks are going to be discarded and rearranged. In all likelihood, this squad will look remarkably different in the next year or so. Something unknown (and, currently, unknowable) is being put together here in Chicago, we just don't know what it is yet…and we don't know whether Ben Gordon will be a part of it. "

Timothy Varner of 48 Minutes of Hell: "When the dust settles, Kobe Bryant will have played the majority of his career between two definitive eras. Between Michael Jordan and LeBron James. I suspect Kobe Bryant will be remembered as the best player of his era, but careful historians with caution against a quick response to the question. Kobe is not alone. Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal stand alongside him as the defining players of the post-Jordan/pre-Lebron parenthetical.  All three players have won 4 championships. Their accomplishments surpass Hall of Fame talk. They walk where Kobe walks. But here's where it gets fun. LeBron James and Dwight Howard are pounding on the gate, but they've not yet stormed the castle. There is still time for Kobe, Duncan and Shaq to break the tie that exists between them. It's early to say this, but the 2009-10 season will feature 5 legitimate contenders: the Lakers, Spurs, Cavs, Magic, and Celtics. The Nuggets and Blazers could get there, but are still wait and see. Three of the five surefire contenders feature Shaq, Duncan or Kobe. The stage is set for a proper send off. It's not too late to arrive at a definitive answer to the question of who claimed majority ownership of this decade."

THE FINAL WORD
Orlando Magic Daily: Your Orlando Magic, summer league edition.
Warriors World: A Q & A with Davidson assistant James Fox about Stephen Curry.
Cavs the Blog: Learn more about Tarence Kinsey. 

(Photos by Rocky Widner, Larry W. Smith, Harry How/NBAE via Getty Images)

A few days ago, I emailed Kelly Dwyer wondering what was up with the Bulls. His response came in late last night:

There's little reason for Bulls supporters to get too upset with the team's Thursday night loss in Phoenix. The defense could have played a little smarter, the team could have done without an initial starting lineup change, or the three-guard lineup that finished the contest; but the 2006-07 Bulls would probably drop a game against a healthy Suns team by about ten points, so no point in reading too much into last night's loss.

What does count, and scare, and singe, is Chicago's first six games. That was a scary, scary basketball team. 30th in offensive efficiency. 14th in defensive efficiency, a year after rallying late behind the work of Sir Tyrus Thomas to top the league in that particular stat. You're in a hurry, you want easy answers. I'm also in a hurry, I've got some strings to change, but I can't mind easy answers when I know actual analysis will do. No gym-teacher buzzwords here. And yet, for those who love acronyms and own "Success Is a Choice," I'll bold some things for the quick read.

Lazy Luol Deng
Lu isn't lazy. He works his tail off, is a right giant off the court, and is a sublime talent between the lines. For the first six games of the season, however, he was a mess offensively. Why's that, top cat? Because the man wasn't putting any effort into the mid-range jump shots he used to dominate with. The knees weren't bending, the follow-through wasn't there, and (not most-importantly, but most-egregiously), and his body wasn't squared. Even on quick-hits, ones that saw him flashing to the front or left side of the rim (Paul Pierce-style) for the short hook, he wasn't jumping high enough and getting his shot swatted. With five gears in reverse, Luol turned into an ordinary mug, and the results weren't pretty.

Shaky Ben Gordon
Gordon's the hardest working Bull, he was an absolute fixture at the team's practice facility over the offseason, working on a series of moves he anticipated having to implement as teams grew wise to his machinations. As a Bulls fan, it was a lovely thing to behold; mainly because a day's spent working on practice court by yourself turns a talent worth your time. A day spent scrimmaging turns you into Antoine Walker.

But early on, Gordon looks as if he's surprised a bit by the actual defenders, stiff-arms, and hand-checks. With nine other people on the court, it will take a while for Gordon to find his flow. Throw in a wasted preseason (Gordon missed nearly all of it with a sprained ankle) and the specter of his usual slow start, and the whole thing seems downright passable.

A Mopey Iowan
Nobody likes one, which is why Kirk Hinrich can't find a table to sit at during lunch. Hinrich's body language has been inappropriate-but-accurate-curse-word all season, his streaky shooting touch has been bothered by it, and his propensity for one-handed passes continues to unnerve. Chicago fans have learned to love the sound of Kirk's voice being picked up by the TV mics, which is why the second half of the Phoenix loss was a bit of a pick-me-up. When his shoulders are slumped, his shooting form resembles a crescent moon, and his facial expressions resemble those of your typical Pitchfork-reader; then a 2-of-11 night is the usual result. Throw in the abject lack of free throws (even at his best) and poor percentage finishing in the paint (even at his best), and you have a mini-Ben Wallace running point.

Ben Wallace Was Hurt
Ben Wallace was hurt. He's not that great anymore, but he'll be around average this year. Before that, not sure if you've heard, he was hurt. Joe Smith needed to play about four minutes to Ben's one.

Too Much Coaching
It's not Scott Skiles' fault that Hinrich is shooting so poorly, Deng isn't showcasing his usual fundamentally-sound streak, Gordon is streaky, or that Wallace sprained his ankle. The Bulls coach knows the games, draws up some gorgeous plays out of timeouts, and generally does a fine job with his team.

So why is he constantly trying to make life harder on himself? We're a quick-fix society, I grok, but there's no reason to make lineup changes for the sake of lineup changes like he does ... every damn December. Throwing Nocioni out at power forward against an up-tempo team like the Suns sounds about right; until you realize that Nocioni's strengths (drawing power forwards out to the three-point line to either defend a shot they don't want to defend, or blow by the slower big men) work against just about any other team BESIDES the Phoenix Suns. Shawn Marion doesn't mind sticking to that three-point line, and he's hardly the type of lumbering big that Noc can drive past.

So what's the point? Chicago's typical starting five (drop Noc, add Thomas) are likely going to be the team's five-best players by the time all 82 have been drained, and they're easily the five-best players at their respective positions. This team is going to have to learn how to win games with that lineup eventually, so why abandon things now ... "just 'cause?"

(By the way, the Bulls were down seven points after the first five minutes against the Suns on Thursday night, with Nocioni unable to drive past Marion, while getting burned on the defensive end by the quicker Grant Hill.)

Listen To Me, Because I've Met the Bass Player From the Meters
For all those scribes and TV-types still chiding the team for not trading for Kevin Garnett, Pau Gasol, or Kobe Bryant ... stop it. Kindly please stop talking and send me twenty bucks for what you are about to read:

Kevin McHale wasn't trading Kevin Garnett last season. The Bulls offered him Tyson Chandler, Luol Deng, and the second pick in the 2006 Draft (perhaps Brandon Roy, Tyrus Thomas, LaMarcus Aldridge ... and McHale would be selecting, so maybe I should throw Hilton Armstrong in the mix) for Garnett, and was told that Minnesota wanted nothing to do with trading KG. He fired Dwane Casey, who had led the Wolves to a 20-20 record at that point, mainly because McHale assumed that this was an underachieving 50-win team. It took a trade demand from Garnett, a third-straight playoff miss, and the work of Garnett's agent to even convince the Wolves to trade KG last summer. By then, the Bulls didn't have the pieces to put a deal together, unless you think Minnesota was interested in Ben Wallace.

Memphis's final offer in return for the services of Pau Gasol last February was Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, PJ Brown, and Tyrus Thomas. This would leave the Bulls with Hinrich, Thabo Sefalosha, Nocioni, Gasol, and Ben Wallace. That's a team that - even with Gasol scoring 25 a game and making half his shots - would average about 52 points per game.

Kobe's not coming to the Bulls because any collection of salaries Chicago could put together in order to approximate Kobe's 2007-08 salary would decimate the Bulls, and Kobe would likely pass on signing off on being sent to a gutted team. Now, a deal involving Ben Gordon, Viktor Khryapa, Andres Nocioni, Chris Duhon, and Joe Smith would work after December 15th, and that's the only deal that would actually see the Bulls coming out ahead talent-wise, but the Lakers would have to waive a whole host of players to make the deal work. The overwhelming majority of these proposed deals (and proposed analysis: "the Bulls need to trade for Kobe!") don't really make sense - and it's getting frustrated reading and listening to a whole host of people paid to lend thei
r insights about the NBA who don't understand even rudimentary NBA salary cap procedure.

This is still a damn good basketball team. Should they make the playoffs, I like Chicago's chances with any Eastern team outside of the Nets (whom I loathe, to be candid, but match up well against the Bulls). Some of the best defensive games of Hinrich's career have come against Ray Allen, the same goes for Luol Deng when it comes to Paul Pierce, and Chicago's record against the Western giants last year is pretty solid.

The Bulls stink offensively, but its turnovers, rebounding issues, and inability to get to the free throw line is right in line with what went down last year, when the team finished 20th in offensive efficiency. If and when the team starts to hit shots, they'll improve, and hopefully ascend to the ranks of the mediocre. That, and the defense (first overall last season), should vault this team back into the race. It's that start, and the missed chances at home against mediocre teams, that worries.

That said, this is your date, and it's still only half past eight. No coaching change or lineup reshuffle or Important Trade Worth These Capital Letters is either in the offing or probable or likely to help. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to write another poem about Tyson Chandler (what rhymes with "weak-side exploits?"), and pretend I believe any of this.