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Week In Review
By Godfather
12/12/2008
Steve Kerr continued to overhaul the Phoenix Suns roster by trading away Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and little used Sean Singletary to the Charlotte Bobcats for Jason Richardson, Jared Dudley and a 2010 2nd round draft pick.

Judging by the Suns last two outings, Jason Richardson will improve the team’s overall offense as they are starting to play more of an up tempo style. Jason strived in Golden State in an open court offense and should be a nice complement to Amare and Shaq working on the blocks.

I also like the move for the Charlotte Bobcats. Jason Richardson moving on allows DJ Augustin to move into the starting lineup alongside Raymond Felton. That backcourt combination has been somewhat effective. Boris Diaw and Raja Bell will make their bench a lot more potent. Diaw can also move into the starting line up for the very inconsistent and ineffective Sean May.

The Cleveland Cavaliers continue to roll winning their 10th straight on Wednesday night, the second game of back to back, against the Philadelphia 76ers. The final score was 101-93; however a late rally by the 76ers determined the final margin. The Cavaliers entered the fourth quarter with a commanding 18 point lead. During this dominating 10 game win streak, the Cavs average margin of victory has been 19 points per game. They are a force to be reckoned with.

Orlando Magic’s forward Hedo Turkoglu did it again on Tuesday night, this time to the young Portland Trailblazers. With 1.7 seconds remaining on the clock, Hedo nailed a three pointer off the glass to give the Magic their second win on their current road trip. The Magic were able to erase an 8 point lead with 1:30 remaining on the clock. The Magic were in position to either tie or win the game after a Brandon Roy air ball.

Speaking of Tuesday night, it was one of the better nights of basketball. The future number 1 overall draft pick for the class of 2009 was on display against West Virginia. A sign of a superstar is when you are able to go into another gear late in a game and that is exactly what Stephen Curry did. Curry for the first 35 minutes of the game was completely shut down by West Virginia defenders. They bumped him, kept a hand in his face and rotated several long armed defenders all night long. Heading into the final moments, he was 2 -14 from behind the arc but drilled two NBA range three pointers, one to bring the margin to one and the other gave Davidson a two point lead and they would hold on to win. Curry scored 13 of his team’s last 15 points to finish the night with 27 points and 10 assists. I’m telling you right now, this kid is going to be a superstar, don’t confuse him with Beasley or Durant.

Also on Tuesday night, Shaquille O’Neal and Jason Kidd went back to the future as they both had uncharacteristically stellar evenings. Shaq went for 35points and 8 boards while Jason Kidd narrowly missed a triple double notching in 24 points 12 dimes and 8 boards. It was as if they were both in their mid 20’s or something.

Carmelo Anthony tied David Thompson’s single quarter scoring record with 33 points in the 3rd quarter against Minnesota Timberwolves. He finished with 45 points in the win.

Speaking of the Timberwolves, Randy Wittman was fired as head coach, and Kevin McHale was relieved of his GM duties and forced to coach the Timberwolves. Serves McHale right after he traded Brandon Roy for Randy Tin Foil, and followed that up with trading OJ Mayo for we are not in love with Kevin Love

Going back to Tuesday night, Joe and Gavin Maloof were getting ready to hit send on the email, subject titled “Your Fired” to Reggie Theus but some how they were able to steal a victory against the Lakers.

Are the Portland Trailblazers contenders, or are they the Portland Pretenders? I’m going with the latter after they lost in Utah on Thursday night 97-88. The game was not as close as the score would indicate; I fell asleep in the 3rd quarter after the Jazz opened up a 17 point lead. The Portland Trailblazers currently sport a 15-9 record and are 6-8 against teams that made the playoffs last year. One of those six wins came against the Spurs without Manu on the second night of the season and two others were against Toronto and Detroit, two teams that are struggling mightily. I’m not going to jump on the Blazer boat any time soon. The media is building them up to be a contender, but they clearly struggle to defeat quality teams. I will be surprised if they hold on to their playoff spot.

Games to watch heading into Weekend and my predictions:

Friday Night
New Orleans vs. Boston
Orlando vs. Phoenix

Boston will win this game and they will win it easily. Chris Paul is the only Hornet that can create his own shot or even make a play. Boston’s intensity will over whelm the overrated Hornets.

If Jason Richardson is available, expect the Suns to win. If Jason Richardson is not in action expect the Suns to win, I don’t see Orlando being able to pull out this tough road contest. Phoenix is a step above Blazers and Clippers, the Magic’s two recent opponents on their road trip.

Saturday Night
Cleveland vs. Atlanta

The Atlanta Hawks will end the Cavaliers 11 game win streak. It will be 11 games because the Cavs will blow out Philly on Friday night. The Hawks are coming off a tough road trip thru the Texas Triangle of Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, which they lost every game. They should be happy to be back in the Phillips Arena and primed to upset the Cavs.

Sunday Night
New Orleans vs. Toronto
This isn’t really a game too watch, hopefully the Raptors won’t lose by 20. You are better off watching football. I will be back next week.

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Stu Parkerwow. after reading this blog....You are spot on. I do not deny Kevin Garnett's ability as a player but HATE the BS stuff he does...All negative crap.
 This is a very unfair article. Garnett is an Olympic Gold Medalist, an MVP, an ALL STAR MVP, an ALL NBA member and an NBA Champion... you know how many current players can say that? 2 others (Shaq & Kobe) and they are all considered among the best players at their respected positions in the HISTORY of basketball. The same should be said for K.G.
 This is a very unfair article. Garnett is an Olympic Gold Medalist, an MVP, an ALL STAR MVP, an ALL NBA member and an NBA Champion... you know how many current players can say that? 2 others (Shaq & Kobe) and they are all considered among the best players at their respected positions in the HISTORY of basketball. The same should be said for K.G.
RaThis is blasphemy. I hope a Celtics fan did not write this article.
KWAPTHow old is that clip of KG? C'mon..of course that was a punk move, but what was that, 10 years ago? It's simple: KG is a fierce competitor who uses intimiadation and mental toughness to strike fear in the heart of his opponents. If he is on your team, you LOVE him. If he is not, you may loathe him. But either way, he is a great player. You cannot deny that.
AlexWow, now we are going to call an Olympic Gold Medalist, an MVP, an ALL STAR MVP, an ALL NBA member, an NBA Champion, a player that has more 20-10-5 seasons than Larry Bird, Defender of the Year (2008 and most likely, this year) overrated? Hmm, right now I'm kind of smelling a bit of jealousy mixed with stupidity in this article.
TweedsterThis blog is poorly written, scattered and incoherent. Thankfully, someone else already tackled the inconsistencies and leaps of logic. Check it out hear: http://celticshub.com/2009/10/22/did-you-hear-kg-is-overrated/
TweedsterSome actual statistics, and not just conjecture and strange conclusions based on the number of 'chips KG has. http://www.celticstown.com/is-kevin-garnett-clutch.html
SPron campbell must love the Lakers. Or the Cav's. Or the Magic. but he doesn't know @$@@ about basketball!
Ed The Sports FanI'm sorry, there's no way in life Allen Iverson isn't in the starting 5, especially ahead of Nash. Give a damn about MVP's, Iverson's done more with much much MUCH less and totally revolutionized the game. Other than that, I think your decade team is cool. -Ed.
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