J.A. Adande

  (3:03 PM)

Hi folks. Welcome back. Hope you had a great holidays. Not too impressed with 2009 so far, but it's early! Let's get at it.

Jason (Dayton)

J.A. - Which streak ends tonight? C's losing or Cavs' home winning?

J.A. Adande

  (3:04 PM)

Getting a ton of these. Normally I don't like doing game predictions, but since there's so much hype on this one...I'm going Celtics. I think they have too much pride, have been taking too many shots to go out like chumps.

Portland Executives

You haven't signed Miles to a contract have you J.A? If so, we'll be talking soon!

J.A. Adande

  (3:06 PM)

Just what we need, more lawyering. I think Portland's legal threat is ludicrous. And I didn't go to law school, but I wonder how they would intend to prove that someone signed and played Miles strictly to trigger the cap hit on Portland. Intent is always difficult to prove. All a team has to say is, "We thought he could help us." How can you prove otherwise?

Eric (Orlando, FL)

How much do you think Dwight Howard has improved this year? I think his defense is MUCH better. He just needs to have more confidence in shooting from more than 5 feet away. Why doesn't he try those shots when the team is way ahead?

J.A. Adande

  (3:07 PM)

I don't think the middle of games is the time to experiment with shots (Kobe used to try it with some left-handed stuff when he was younger). You work on your game in the summertime, hours and hours alone in the gym. (Kobe did plenty of that, too).

Rudy Fernandez (Portland)

JA, Why the did NBA want me to participate in the slam dunk contest? I don't think I could win.

J.A. Adande

  (3:08 PM)

Haven't been paying attention to the trends, have you? Don't you think it would fit the global marketing scheme to have a European player in the slam dunk contest?

Dan (Palatine, Illinois)

What is your take on the Bulls? Is Del Negro failing as a 1st year coach or do we just have a team of immature players?

J.A. Adande

  (3:10 PM)

I wouldn't put it on Del Negro. This is 3 coaches in a year and a half now and none of them has been able to make the squad take off. That's on the players. The way they fell apart at the first trade rumor or contract talk breakdown last season was really an indictment on them. That said, I wouldn't have gone with a rookie coach to try to solve the problem.

Arun, Toronto

Why are sports analysts and the media still saying Kobe is the best player in the world...LBJ's team is doing just as well as Kobe's in what can now be seen as a tougher conference, he fared much better in the playoffs against the team that knocked Kobe out of the finals and I definitely think its worth noting that LBJ has won the last 4 times these two guys have squared off against each other...as insignificant as one can make a regular season game out to be, don't you think the so-called "best player in the world" would really want to come out on top in ANY matchup against a guy who's nipping at his heels?

J.A. Adande

  (3:14 PM)

I'd say Kobe is still a better shooter and on-ball defender than LeBron (With the improved play of Gasol and guys like Ariza for the Lakers, I do think Bron-Bron has been more essential to his team's success this year -- and thus more valuable.) Have you seen Kobe's shooting percentages lately? In the past I said his low FG% was the main reason I gave MJ the nod over him...but lately Kobe's been sniper-accurate

J.A. Adande

  (3:14 PM)

And I can't wait for the Kobe-LBJ matchup in Staples in a couple of weeks

Jake (Denver)

J.A.: You're in charge of the Jazz and have to deal with the Boozer situation. If he seems destined to leave for Miami, why not at least try to swap him for Marion? Everyone knows that's where he wants to land and the Heat don't have to worry about him fleeing next year. This could allow the Jazz to move AK back to the 4 and get another tough defender.

J.A. Adande

  (3:16 PM)

Because maybe the Heat isn't so eager to have Boozer anymore? That's one thing I heard when I was down there right before New Year's...that Miami thinks it might just be better off keeping its cap options open rather than spending big money on Boozer. Would you want to sign him for big $ given his injury history?

cleveland, ohio

Do you think the cavs will trade Wally for some more help for Lebron in their quest for a title?

J.A. Adande

  (3:17 PM)

I think they'd like to, but with Wally's $13 million salary it's not that easy. There aren't a lot of tradeable guys at that number, and do other teams want to give up multiple players for Wally?

Tom, VERMONT!

Celtics have dropped 6 of the last 8 games, including one at home to the Bobcats. Are the cavs the better them, even though the Celtics have the "Big Three"?

J.A. Adande

  (3:19 PM)

You can say Cleveland's better right now, but you really don't want to base any proclamations on what's going on in January. And I picked Cleveland to come out of the East. But you can't really anoint the Cavs the better team until they get it done in the playoffs.

Paul Caruso (ASU)

Hey JA, I love how you do you chats, man! Anyway, with our starting 2 guard and good defender, Pietrus out..The Magic are still winning. When he gets back, and since our bench has done so much better than anyone anticipated.. I am pretty sure we will see a Cleveland-Orlando eastern finals...What other scenarios do you see for the east finals besides cleveland-boston?

J.A. Adande

  (3:20 PM)

I had one league insider yesterday predict Cleveland-Detroit. Can't say I agree....but it's a possiblity. I wouldnt mind seeing AI playing in June again.

Dan (LA)

Shouldn't Darius Miles be pursuing legal action with the Blazers? Seems to me they might have just killed any attempt for him to make a comeback by sending out this email.

J.A. Adande

  (3:22 PM)

Even more lawyering! What would be the basis for his case: your honor, we would like to cite the Trail Blazers for excessive hateration. Again, courts are all about proof. Miles would have to prove that he didn't get a chance to play anywhere as a result of Portland's actions.

Lance (New York, N.Y.)

I know you have something to say about the BCS BS so please make your case for why USC should be #1.

J.A. Adande

  (3:23 PM)

I couldn't vote for anyone but Utah. You could argue that USC is better, has more talent. You could say the same for Florida. Or Texas. But sports should be about results, not arguments. Utah was undefeated, beating teams from the Pac-!0, Big Ten and now SEC in the process. other teams might be better theoretically, but Utah had the best season.

Brandon Robbins (birmingham AL)

Who joins Dwight from the magic all start weekend: Lewis, Turk or Nelson?

J.A. Adande

  (3:24 PM)

Jameer would be the most deserving. And his chances only increase if Rondo and the Celtics keep sliding

Pau Gasol

I feel like i'm getting jipped in the all star voting by the fans. Am I gonna make it when the coaches start voting?

J.A. Adande

  (3:26 PM)

What is he, like sixth? He should definitely get all-star run. But there's a center candidate we never would have considered before the season: Shaq. Especially with the game in his hometown. Maybe they take both.

Eric (Ohio)

Why does Doc Rivers get so much credit for being a great coach? I could coach the "Big Three" to 60 wins a season. I don't believe that he should receive as much credit as he does due to the fact of the talent on that team. The owners pocket book should get the credit.

J.A. Adande

  (3:28 PM)

Maybe he gets credit for not messing it up? Did you ever consider that? I agree that talent comes first. But if you think that's all there is too it, you didn't watch the Dallas Cowboys this season (really, all you needed to do was watch "Hard Knocks" to see that Wade Phillips wasn't the right guy)

Birdman (Boston)

Look at Utah's wins, they play nobody's..Then look at USC's, Oklahoma's, Florida's schedule and who they beat.... If Utah played a schedule like the big boys, they would go 8-4.

J.A. Adande

  (3:30 PM)

So Alabama's a nobody now? And it's not Utah's fault that Michigan dropped off so badly. When they scheduled that game years ago they could not have expected to catch the Wolverines in their worst season in about a century. Is Oregon State a nobody? The Beavers were the only team to beat USC.

Galen (SF)

Do you think Bosh stays in Toronto in 2010? He says he'll base it on if he's "happy". Do you think he's the type of player willing to possibly play shotgun to LeBron in NY? Or, an Amare type want to be the "man"?

J.A. Adande

  (3:31 PM)

I've never had the sense that Bosh needs to be The Man. he wants to win. And if Toronto wins I think he'd be happy there. Unfortunately they're headed in the opposite direction.

Yi Jianlian (Heshan, Guangdong)

I'm about 150,000 votes behind KG right now for 2nd place for Eastern forwards in all star voting. If I end up starting on this year's all star team, would that mean the end of fan voting online, and maybe only at games if they let fans vote at all?

J.A. Adande

  (3:33 PM)

I think you should continue online voting and make sure there can only be one vote per ISP address (do they have anything like that now? I've never tried to vote online) But I don't see how excessive clicking would be any different from stuffing the ballots at the games. And it would encourage teams to promote their players worldwide. You just know David Stern likes that

J.A. Adande

  (3:34 PM)

I always say no matter what, the fan vote is right. The game is for them, if that's who they want they should get them.

Lance (New York, N.Y.)

Your case for Utah is exactly why I respect your work, Mr. Adande. By the way, did you see anything from Eddy Curry's session that could be cause for concern?

J.A. Adande

  (3:35 PM)

Yeah, his size. Wow he looked big.

Mike (Blythe, CA)

I believe the suns have a coaching crisis on their hands. I know others have been saying this for a while, but Terry Porter was quoted the other day saying that "it doesn't matter who is on the floor in a defensive situation" in reference to him leaving barbosa and nash on the court against Indiana the other night when there was barely a second left on the clock. THis screams that he lacks head coaching sense, especially after he did the same thing on Christmas against the SPurs... You agree?

J.A. Adande

  (3:36 PM)

The "crisis" might be less a matter of his decisions and more about the players' lack of confidence in him. Very thinly veiled criticism from Nash, from Diaw after he left, even from Barbosa.

Cosmo (Anytown, USA)

Are there any GM's around dumb enough to trade for Dalembert? If so, who are they?

J.A. Adande

  (3:37 PM)

Heard a GM suggest he might be a good fit for Atlanta, give them a tall defender inside. I like that concept.

Squints (Boston)

J.A., it seems as if you're still stuck in the early 2000's saying that Kobe is close to being as good as LeBron is right now and wanting to see AI in June. I'd much rather see the likes of Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis deep in the playoffs than a very old and very much less effective Allen Iverson.

J.A. Adande

  (3:40 PM)

You're lucky I even kept reading after that ludicrous first sentence. I like seeing the young stars rise, but its much more compelling to watch players near the end of their careers who have their legacies at stake. There's no way you would have had the urgency from the Celtics last year if KG, Pierce and Allen were all in their mid-20s

Josh (Knoxville, TN)

CBS Sportsline ranks Utah's SOS as 31st most difficult. Not stellar. However, Alabama is 32nd, Penn St is 39th and USC is ranked 40th. If either of those 3 teams had Utah's record they'd be in possession of a big crystal football right now.

J.A. Adande

  (3:40 PM)

Good point.

Mitch Kupchak

Do you think I should sign Shaun Livingston. Jordan Farmar's out and it looks like it would be good to have an extra PG. What do you think?

J.A. Adande

  (3:41 PM)

At this point they should bring in someone, now that Farmar and Luke and Odom are down. Livingston wouldn't hurt.

Jake (Denver)

You think Bosh, with all of the YouTube videos and "Look at me!" mentality, could play second fiddle? He's the big dog in Toronto, and until he sees a change of scenery, no one knows what will happen. It's harder to go from #1 to #2, though.

J.A. Adande

  (3:43 PM)

The videos are a clever way to get attention and have fun in the process...especially since he doesn't have big national endorsements. That doesn't affect the way he plays on the court or interacts with his teammates

Stephon Marbury (New York)

Would I be a good fit for the lakers? Or would i cause to much chemistry problems?

J.A. Adande

  (3:43 PM)

His game is the exact opposite of what a point guard should do in the triangle offense

Jake (Denver)

How on earth would a deal for Sammy work with Atlanta? He's making 10 mil a year; Philly would have to take back Speedy at 5 mil at least, and that isn't even an expiring contract.

J.A. Adande

  (3:45 PM)

I said the concept. I got off the phone with the GM right before I did the chat and I didn't have a chance to really look at the numbers. But any time there are needs like what Atlanta has, there's a market.

Ed (DC)

Why does everyone assume that Bosh is the best 1-2 signing combo to add with LeBron in 2010? With LBJ's size, wouldn't a pairing with DWade, who actually has a ring already and, with the exception of last season, has helped his team overachieve just about everyone year he's been in the league?

J.A. Adande

  (3:46 PM)

I've said it before on the air, I really think a Bron-DWade pairing in NY is a possibility...and I"m not the only one

Cyrus (Irvine, CA)

The Cavs have got to turn Wally's expiring contract into something that will give them the mental edge in the matchup against Boston in the playoffs. Why don't the Cavs trade Wally Szczerbiak and other fillers for Carlos Boozer? Utah knows that Boozer is going to leave, so they can swap him for another expiring contract that is much more beneficial to their franchise. It will give a vote of confidence to Paul Millsap. Plus, they get loveable white guy for their fanbase. Cleveland, on the other hand, gets to rent a power forward that knows the system and could make them that much stronger in their matchup against Boston, given that Boozer returns to full strength. Then they can use that cap space to look for other players during the offseason once Boozer departs for South Beach. Everyone wins!

J.A. Adande

  (3:49 PM)

that was so well thought-out I had to post it. But it would assume Boozer can get back on the court. I'm not sure he can do that before the trading deadline in February, which would make it too big of a risk for Cleveland. they have to play that Wally chip right. Have to.

Paulius(Lithuania)

Isn't Chris Paul's stats just a little bit deceiving, I heard the other day commentators comparing him to little Nate Archibald, who had the ball ALL THE TIME. Just like CP3, I mean sometimes he gets like 15 of 17, 17 of 20+ Hornets' assists. And he scores on every opportunity where he can't find a team-mate. The only time you can't see him with the ball are the times when they do an iso for David West. So aren't his stats just a bit deceiving, I mean Magic didn't have the ball that much, did he?

J.A. Adande

  (3:52 PM)

After the Norm Nixon trade Magic did have the ball that much. He wouldn't have had it any other way. And when they were here this week Mo Pete told me something I hadn't realized before: that Chris Paul is really the heart of their defense too, since they key off of him, his anticipation and his steals. So beyond the stats, you see CP3's value

Matt (East Hartford via Albany)

The thing with what Cyrus just said, there can't be any way that Cleveland takes Boozer back in any way, shape or form after the way he left the first time, can they?

J.A. Adande

  (3:54 PM)

Why do people find it easy to believe Marbury and KG get back together but no Boozer back in Cleveland? Phil Jackson wrote a book trashing Kobe and the Laker front office, but who's coaching that team now? Never underestimate pro sports teams' abilities to put results first

dee (NY,NY)

shaq still a top 5 center in the league, correct?

J.A. Adande

  (3:55 PM)

Almost by default, yes. But he has been the focal point of a team that's headed to the playoffs. Didn't think we'd see that again.

MC Welk (SLC)

Not impressed by 2009? What about the ascendancy of the first black President? Yeah, how boring ?

J.A. Adande

  (3:58 PM)

So far that's a 2008 story. He hasn't taken office yet.

Rinde , Cleveland

I heard Bill Walton say that Cleveland needed this game more then Boston, But everyone knows that Walton will say something and then sing a whole different tune by half times. With the Celts in a funk, Do you really think the Cavs need this game more then the Celtics ?

J.A. Adande

  (3:59 PM)

I actually think it's Boston that needs it more, just to restore order and keep the Cavs in their place. Cleveland already knows it can win in Cleveland, even during the playoffs.

J.A. Adande

  (4:00 PM)

I'll leave on that note, just to keep everyone thinking about the game tonight. Thanks for coming by. See you next week.