Just when many thought there no big moves left in the offseason, a four-team trade was made involving the Indiana Pacers, New Jersey Nets, Houston Rockets, and New Orleans Hornets. In the trade, Courtney Lee was dealt to Houston, Trevor Ariza will be a Hornet, the Nets got Troy Murphy, while Darren Collison and James Posey will be heading to Indianapolis.
With the addition of Collison, the Pacers have resolved their need for a point guard. Last season, when Collison started in spite of Chris Paul's injury, the former UCLA standout averaged 21.6 points per game, 8.3 assists, and 49.6% shooting from the field. Posey, also sent to Indiana, is a formidable three-point threat. Having won a title with both the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics, respectively, he will also bring a valuable veteran presence.
The Kobe Beef blog also touched on the financial benefits of the deal: "Although the Pacers took on the bloated contract of Posey’s salary (two years remaining at #13 million) it will save the team $4 million on their overall payroll. This is something the organization is very apt to do considering that they claim they can no longer afford to pay the yearly leasing fee for using the Conseco Fieldhouse."
Since Indiana could not trade injury-prone point guard T.J. Ford, the Pacers offered to buyout Ford's contract for $5 million. "I'm not taking a buyout," Ford told the Indianapolis Star. Ford is set to make $8.5 million this season, having picked up his player option.
The Houston Rockets received the type of scrappy player coach Rick Adelman loves with the acquisition of Lee. Lee, who appeared in the 2009 NBA Finals as a member of the Orlando Magic, also has a good shooting touch. In the process, the Rockets got rid of Ariza, who struggled with his shooting percentages, and his contract. From a business perspective, this is a fantastic decision for the Rockets. The team will save $10 million this season and plenty more down the road.
The New Orleans Hornets received Ariza in the deal. The move pleased Paul, who had a conversation with his new teammate. "He was excited," Ariza said. Paul said,"I’m all about winning. I’ll do everything to win. I’m just more hungry now. Just getting to the playoffs is not good enough for me." Ariza, of course, won a championship with the Lakers and is a multi-faceted player. Although he struggled with his efficiency, he has great range, can drive to the basket, and is a commendable perimeter defender.
In the least influential component of the deal, Troy Murphy is now a member of the New Jersey. Nets. Perhaps The Kobe Beef put it best: As for Murphy heading to New Jersey, well, he will be as invisible as he was when he was with Indiana. He is one of the better players in the league but no one gives him much credit or attention because he has played in small markets for much of his career . Over the past couple of seasons he has become a double-double machine averaging 14.45 points and 11 rebounds. Avery Johnson will likely try and use him as a poor man’s Dirk Nowitzki."
Overall, the deal seems beneficial for all parties involved.
Hello, readers. You may have heard me on Corey Costelloe's radio show, Home Turf, on 1230 AMESPN Bakersfield earlier today. If you did, leave a comment and let me know what you thought. If you didn't or just really enjoyed my commentary, I'll try to post an .mp3 soon. Until then, best wishes for a Happy New Year!
With Ron Artest recently injured, it came to me: Did the Lakers make the right decision by signing him or should they have stayed with the same cast and resigned Trevor Ariza? And depending on who you ask, the answer varies. I'm sure Houston Rockets fans are very happy that their team is in the playoff hunt without T-Mac and Yao. Then again, Lakers fans can't argue with a 25-6 record, one loss coming in Artest's absence. It seems like both teams found the right piece. However, the question at mind is whether or not the Lakers made the right decision.
Just to clarify, during the offseason, the Lakers made offers to both Artest and Ariza. It just so happened that Artest responded sooner than Trevor. Some may point to the stat sheet and note that Ariza has statistically performed better than Artest in free throw percentage, steals, blocks, point, rebounds, and three pointers made. But the Lakers didn't sign Artest for his stats, per se. They signed him for his ability to defend. And these past few games, although played against the higher-scoring offenses in the league, have shown that his defense is rather valuable.
To address Ariza's amazing stats, though, I'd like to say that he wouldn't be able to attain those numbers as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. Even with Kobe Bryant, Pau, Lamar, Bynum, and Pau, there's still only one basketball to go around. There's no way that Ariza would be able to average 16 points a game. In fact, he'd be doing a good day's work if he consistently scored 10. Nevertheless, Trevor is a great guy, and I'm glad to see him succeed in a new role with the Rockets.
Ariza's performance after departing the Lakers reminds me of another (former) Rockets player, Von Wafer. When Von played for the Lakers in the 2005-2006 season, he only averaged 4:30 and that was only in the sixteen games he played, albeit during garage time of the arguably the worst Lakers season in a decade. Despite the fact that Kobe and Lamar were pretty much the only threats on that team, he was never given a chance to show his game. I remember when my friends and I would play pickup games and dub the least-talented participant "Von Wafer" (it was either that or Slava Medvedenko). Anyway, when fans finally saw his entire repertoire in Houston last year, he averaged 19:23 in 63 games, quite an increase in playing time. He also proved he was a good shooter, 44.7% from the field and 39% from behind the arc.
What I'm trying to say is that Lakers fans shouldn't just read the newspapers and assert that GM Mitch Kuptchak made a mistake. The Rockets got exactly what they needed - and so did the Lakers. While Ariza was capable of guarding a quick forward, teammate Lamar Odom rightfully told reporters that Ron can guard anybody from the 1 to the 4 (positions). It's likely too early to embark on a complete assessment, as surely there are still some Artest antics that await us. At the moment, though, it's safe to say that the Lakers made the right decision.
October was an extremely hectic month for your phenom.Hopefully, November will offer more posts, but if not, I'll try to update Halftime Hype with brief updates & references like this one.
It's still too soon to make a final conclusion regarding the Ariza-Artest deals. For one, Artest is still finding his way in the triangle offense. To make things a little more difficult, his role right now will likely differ when Gasol returns to the lineup. Ariza, who I haven't seen in a Rockets uniform yet, is learning how to become the go-to player as opposed to "fifth option." At least he's learning from the best.
A great adaptation of enthusiasm of the game's greatest
This isn't the first time we've been faced with a Game 7 this postseason. As we all remember, Beantown's Celtics and Obamaville's Bulls got into an exciting seven game series that didn't fare out well for the underdogs. Now, in the Conference semifinals, we have two seven games series. It's no longer a question of who is the more dominant team; both teams have proved that they are talented. The winner will only advance to the next round by overcoming nervousness and all other emotions in a forum of adversity. But at the end of the day, "there can only be one."
With Orlando and Boston, we've seen the intensity of East Coast warriors. With the ferocious former-T-Wolf in KG absent, the Boston Three Party has turned to their dynamic duo and the bench as their source of inspiration to strive forward. Orlando is still getting acclimated to the heat of the series against the defending champs. I wouldn't call the Magic deers in headlights, but they aren't what I would refer to as "experienced." Coming in as virgins to the fame and success of the playoffs, they have done a phenomenal job holding their own - with the exception of allowing a buzzer beater by Big Baby. They have elevated their skilled players, who got bits of attention here and there, to postseason competitors, who are the subject of praise. The C's will be looking to get a victory on their home floor, but ever since #21 sat out so have the fans. Boston is no longer the most-feared place to play. Not that the waving green towels and roaring fans aren't intimidating; they are no longer a threat to the performance of the opposition. However, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce have the ability to pile up the points in the clutch - crunch time still an issue for the Magic who barely won Game 6 after missing plenty of easy free throws. I'm not going to make any predictions on who will be victorious, but Game 7 of this series should be much closer than the Bulls vs. Celtics Game 7.
Magic's keys to victory:
Dwight Howard needs to continue what he's doing - except for publicly criticizing his coach and missing free throws.
The X-factors, Courtney Lee and Rafer Alston, must be involved. Lee's jumpshot and Rafer Alston's teardrops and long-distance shooting must be in check.
Hedo needs to shoot better and take agressive drives. Despite going 3-13 in Game 6, he scored when it mattered most. The goal will be to finish with a good shooting percentage, though.
The Cetlics keys to victory:
Ray Allen and Paul Pierce should be ready for clutch performances, as they were Chicago. Allen's three point accuracy combined with Pierce's mid-range game will likely make-or-break this epic battle.
Rondo needs to put defensive pressure on the opposing PG.
Perkins and Big Baby need to stay out of foul trouble. As we saw in the 3OT thriller last series, the Celtics desperately need their big men under the six fouls.
Coined on an Urban Outfitters tee near you. Just Kidding.
The other seven game series will be the Lakers facing off against the Rockets. The Rockets came in as the underdogs and may actually get much farther than they thought. They stole the first game of the series in Los Angeles, and have reached the playoffs without their star, Tracy McGrady. As if that weren't enough, their center, Yao Ming, the tallest in the NBA, went down in the middle of the series. One would think that would drastically hurt their chances of advancing. Not at all. In fact, you could make a case they've played better without him, going 2-1. However, the Lakers, specifically Kobe, have been cool with shrugging off losses and criticism by winning the following game. Although the Lakers have come out too lackadaisical in this series, they still have a chance to prove naysayers wrong with a Game 7 victory. And some are forgetting the meager bit of adversity the Lakers are playing through. Coming into the series Luke Walton was injured, then we discovered that Fisher was too old to keep up with Brooks, and recently, Lamar Odom, one of the most versatile players the game has, hurt his back. Oh, and I forgot to mention that their superstar-in-training, Andrew Bynum, has only had one decent performance in the series. But at the end of the day, it's difficult to bet against Kobe and his playoff experience, and the Lakers should be able to grind out a victory at home against the Rockets. If this series seems more complicated, it's cause it is.
Rockets' Keys to Victory:
Landry needs to duplicate his Game 6 efforts in order to make it close. His 15 points, many of them in the closing quarter, provided the Rockets' with a crucial lift.
Scola must exploit Odom and Gasol. When defended by Odom, he has to make sure to take his shots in the paint and aggrivate his back injury. If he's matching up with Gasol, he needs to use the strength he showed in Game 6 to create space with the "softy."
Aaron Brooks has to use his speed the entire game - especially when Fisher is on the floor. For the most part, he's run circles around the entire Lakers team.
Artest needs to keep his emotions and body in check. An ejection would definitely hurt the outcome of the game for the Rockets. And don't forget, Ron Ron has earned some flagrant points from his ejection. He has one or two more chances before those points result in a suspension.
Lakers' Keys to Victory:
Come out with a strong start. They can't afford to let Houston go on a huge run to open the game. As we saw in Game 6, if the deficit in the first quarter wasn't so large they may have had a better chance of winning the game.
Farmar needs to play tight D on Brooks. He'll probably have an edge in minutes over Fisher and can't be fatigued.
It's crucial that Bynum scores and rebounds. His starting position is in jeopardy and he's not showing any passion on the court.
Turn the 6'6" Landry into a liability. His height makes it much easier to match up with him, but you can't let him draw fouls.
Gasol can't be weak defensively. His "defense" on Scola was unacceptable. He should also look to lighten the load on Kobe, at least in the first half, so #24 has plenty of stamina in the second half.
I'm not worried about Kobe at all. These are the moments he relishes. Another chance to prove himself and his clutch reputation. But he needs time on the floor to do so, and when Jackson rested him at the top of the fourth in Game 6, he really decreased any chances of a Lakers victory.
The hype for these games is immense. Lebron James is probably having goosebumps right now about his next opponent. But he gets one more game in a reclining chair before it's time to play. As for the Nuggets, who have recently been chosen as favorites to beat the Lakers or the Rockets, they'll be anxious for their next battle. But for now, we wait until the result of Game 7.
Dope Jam of the Day
Champagne Red Lights (Remix) - O'Neal McKnight feat. Ron Brownz and Busta Rhymes -In this song, Busta Rhymes, one of the pioneers of New Age rap, spits out our motto, "something like a phenomenon" several times. But that's not what makes the song unique. The chorus has O'Neal McKnight, in a voice resembling an announcer, descriptively reciting the club setting. To compliment the grandness of the chorus, Busta Rhymes literally busts some realistic rhymes. He mentions his amazing presence when he steps in and then its back to the baratone narration of McKnight. And to add a playful sound to the song is auto-tune professor, Ron Brownz. His outgoing personality meshes well with Busta Rhymes' serious nature. In terms of production, the beat is very consistent and has just enough variety to coincide well with the singers. Strongly suggest you listen to this new club anthem.
