Offseason Movement: The Mavs’ big move was to jettison Avery Johnson and hire Rick Carlisle as head coach. They also acquired Shawne Williams from the Pacers. Of course, last February the team traded Devin Harris and two first round picks for Jason Kidd. Kidd’s return to Dallas didn’t get off to a very good start.
Keep Your Eye On: Jason Kidd, PG
Kidd is in the final year of his contract (worth $21 million) so if things don’t go well to start the season, it’s not inconceivable that the Mavs could cut bait and trade him before the February deadline. The team is attempting to build around Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard and Jason Terry, but all three players have topped out and it doesn’t look like they’ll be enough to get the Mavs over the hump. What’s worse – the Mavs gave up their best young prospect (Harris) to acquire Kidd, so if that experiment fails, the Mavs will not only have screwed themselves in the present, but they’ll have screwed themselves in the future, too.
The Big Question: Is this group good enough?
Nowitzki is still an All-Star caliber player and Howard and Kidd make up a more than adequate supporting cast. But there’s something missing with this group. Call it toughness, moxy, swagger, heart, whatever. I just don’t get the sense from this team that they have what it takes to make it to the Finals again. It’s sad, really, considering that, if not for the officials’ decision to send Dwyane Wade to the line for every ticky-tack foul, the Mavs would have beat the Heat in the Finals three years ago. Dirk should go down as one of the league’s all-time greatest players, but his team’s failure to close the deal in the 2006 Finals has seemingly sent the franchise into a tailspin. And no one, not Mark Cuban, not Avery Johnson, and not Jason Kidd, has been (or will be) able to pull them out of it.
Outlook: Desperate. Cuban is pulling out all the stops (i.e. mortgaging the franchise’s future) to win now. The Kidd trade was bold but ill-advised, as it undermined the long-term competitiveness of the club. Devin Harris is a good young point guard with loads of potential, and that kind of player is tough to come by. Now Cuban has hitched his wagon to a 35 year-old point guard whose best years are (far) behind him. This has the makings for a slow, steady decline.
Author: John Paulsen (Page 642 of 937)
So, according to Golic, it’s okay for Favre to answer questions about the Packers’ tendencies as long as he didn’t initiate the call. Golic compared the situation to players that were signed for a week by a team just to give their new team info about their old team. But Favre wasn’t signed by the Lions.
Is Golic saying that it’s not okay if Favre called the Lions to BS about something else, and then they asked him about the Packers? Or is he saying that as long as Favre didn’t initiate the discussion about the Packers, that he’s in the clear.
I don’t know why whether or not Favre initiated the call even matters. As soon as the Lions asked him about the Packers, he should have ended the call.
For his part, Favre has denied that he called the Lions and helped them game plan.
Offseason Movement: The team acquired two big names via the draft. Michael Beasley should play a ton of minutes right away and Mario Chalmers is a nice point guard prospect. The Heat also signed three-point specialist James Jones and signed Shaun Livingston to a two-year deal.
Keep Your Eye On: Michael Beasley, F
In many ways, the Heat’s playoff chances rely heavily on how quickly the talented scoring forward can adjust to the NBA game. He is averaging over 15 points and 48% shooting in preseason, so all signs point to a ROY-type season. Beasley can score from just about anywhere on the court and he and Dwyane Wade should provide a formidable one-two punch.
The Big Question: Can Shawn Marion and Michael Beasley co-exist?
Conventional wisdom states that Marion and Beasley play the same position so therefore one of them (Marion) has to go. But in today’s NBA, I see no reason why the two can’t play together on Miami’s frontline. Beasley is a player that has to have the ball in his hands. You run plays for him, you throw it to him in the post, whatever. Conversely, Marion is an energy player who gets most of his points on the break, on offensive rebounds or spotting up in the corner for a three-point shot. The Marion trade talk is already hot and heavy, and there are two things working against the Matrix sticking around in Miami – his age and his asking price. He’s 30, so does he really fit into Miami’s rebuilding plan? Is Miami really rebuilding or could they contend in the next 1-3 seasons? If so, it might be wise to hold onto Marion if the trio gels. If not, the Heat will almost certainly trade Marion, though finding a taker might be tough considering his asking price. A Marion for Lamar Odom swap makes a lot of sense for both teams. The other option is to let Marion go, which will free up a ton of cap space next summer.
Outlook: With Wade, Beasley and Shawn Marion, the Heat have a very scary lineup at the 2-3-4. If all three – but especially Wade – can stay healthy, and they can get decent play at center ant point guard, Miami will make some noise. I’m sure I will take some flack for picking the Heat to finish ahead of the Cavs, but I just like Wade’s supporting cast a lot more. It’s not that Miami is deeper, it’s just that Marion and Beasley are probably better than the next two guys on Cleveland’s roster. Honestly, things are so tight in the middle third of the league that it doesn’t really matter.
Hey – Stacy Keibler used to be a wrestler, and that’s sort of a sport, right? I’m sure if you asked Triple H, he would say it’s a sport.
So I’m sure our readers are dying to know what the former WWE Diva and “Dancing With the Stars” third-place finisher is doing these days. Well, I don’t know what she’s doing, but I do know that she (and her 42″ legs) posed for Maxim this month. Here’s a pic from the layout, which can be viewed in its entirety here.
This new “news” gives me an excuse to link to my favorite Stacy Keibler photo shoot – the one she did for Stuff, which was shot before she was trying to become a serious actress, so she didn’t mind if the photographer……..um……….focused on her………..um………derrier.
Anyone who can arch their back like that has to be athletic, right?
Additional Stacy Keibler photo galleries: Stuff II, Stuff III, Beauty Den, Official Women of Wrestling
Other links: Wikipedia page, official home page
In the Lakers’ preseason game against the Bobcats, Kobe Bryant knocked knees with teammate Josh Powell and hyperextended his right knee. He left the game and did not return.
Watch the video here.
The Lakers aren’t gelling very well in the preseason and can’t afford to lose Kobe for any length of time. The injury doesn’t appear to be serious, but it is a setback nonetheless.
Wednesday afternoon update: ESPN is reporting that the Lakers have no plans to have Kobe undergo a MRI on his injured knee. This is (probably) a good sign.
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