Bulldog

another guy that should get some votes who is always overlooked is Shawn Marion: #4 in NBA in rebounds per game #5 in NBA in steals per game #11 in NBA in blocks per game and he scores nearly 20ppg on 46% shooting and is #6 in NBA efficiency rating. Yet he is never mentioned with some other guys. This guy deserves a lot more recognition than he is getting.

I like the Byrd vs Ruiz call except you know that that is not going to be an exciting fight as Ruiz clinches so much. He is very awkward and I wouldnt say that Byrd definitely takes that one. I mean Byrd struggles against Jameel McCline who is ordinary at best. But I would like to see these match ups to get an undisputed champion. You are right that Danny Williams is not on the same level. He beat a washed up Tyson and is a tough guy, but does not have the tools to be world champ. The only guy that I can see saving the division is the 24 year old "Nigerian Nightmare" Samuel Peter. He has real power in both hands (as shown by his brutal knockout of Jeremy Williams last time out), is 21-0 with 18 ko's and the kind of belief in himself that is needed. He is probably not ready for a title shot next year, but 2006 could be his year. He is very good and young, so I would love to see him advance up the ladder this year by facing someone like Fres Oquendo or Timo Hoffman or even McCline and then going for Brewster or whoever is champ early 2006. The real action division though is light welterweight. Look at the top guys: Kostya Tszyu, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Ricky Hatton, Miguel Angel Cotto,, Vivian Harris, Sharmba Mitchell, Arturo Gatti. It really is a golden era for the division that I believe will be talked about in the future as just that. The one I would love to see get a real shot is Ricky Hatton. He is a great, tough fighter who keeps throwing. He is great to watch, has power (28kos out of 38 is big for a light welterweight) and is exciting. I think he would give any of the other guys mentioned real problems and a match up with Tzyu could be a classic. Anyway we'll have to wait and see if any of these match ups are made. Thanks for your comments.

Jackson has played with 10 teams after being so often traded! (Dallas, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Golden State, Portland, Atlanta, Cleveland, Miami, Sacramento and Houston). Then after finally making his own choice in signing as a free agent with Houston he gets shipped to the worst team in the league and 11th team New Orleans. I am not surprised he hasnt reported to the team. Trade him to a contender Nawlins! He would fit well in Miami so a deal of Wesley Person and untested rookie Dorell Wright could be done. I hope Jimmy lands somewhere with at least a chance of the playoffs...

I would like to see these: Kosta Tzyu vs Ricky Hatton Vitali Klitschko vs James Toney Bernard Hopkins vs Felix Trinidad Floyd Mayweather Jr vs Miguel Angel Cotto Joe Calzaghe vs Glencoffe Johnson Cory Spinks vs Oscar De La Hoya Any thoughts on other great fights that probably wont be made next year?

My vote would be for Nate McMillan. Seattle were totally written off before the season with some fingers pointing his way. Now at 20-6 he is looking pretty good getting much more out of Rashard Lewis this year and mixing up his paint players well. In the mix: Silas, D'Antoni, Eddie Jordan. Next to be fired: Byron Scott - how has this guy survived? 2-25 is just plain awful, especially with an All Star Center on the team.

I hear what you are saying and KG's numbers are ridiculous, but in his second season his stats were 17, 8 and 3. Those numbers are all world for a 20 year old, but Lebrons 25, 7 and 7 are on a different level. I dont think Lebron will be MVP as people will say 'his time will come'. I think that people are just amazed that he surpassed all the huge hype in his rookie year and now has taken it up a further notch this year when some players struggle with their sophomore year (see Carmelo). I agree that Stern probably loves the idea of marketing the NBA through this guy. But that is a good thing. He is young and charismatic, is all NBA talent and seems to be a good guy too.

It has just occurred to me that Stephon Marbury gets constantly ragged for being a shoot first point guard, a shooting guard in a point guard's body etc etc However looking at the evidence: Stephon Marbury is number 7 on the ALL TIME assists per game list at 8.3 apg for his career. That is better than some of the great 'true' PG's like Mark Jackson, Bob Cousy, Nate Archibald, Mark Price etc For his career he is averaging 20.4ppg 8.3 ppg 3.1rpg and 1.27 spg. Although I like Steph I'm no huge fan of his, but as I was looking at his numbers today I think he is an underestimated player. Those numbers are outstanding with the most common misconception being that he doesnt distribute enough. Number 7 all time doesnt lie.

I agree with all except 2nd team PG - I would give it to Dwyane Wade. He has been out of this world averaging 23ppg 5.6rpg and 7apg on 49% shooting and leading Miami to the top of the Eastern Conference. Stoudemire gets pretty close to 1st team instead of Shaq too, but I would still agree that Shaq shaves it.

http://msn.foxsports.com/story/3262444 Fox sports is suggesting that the Hornets are so bad that they may as well trad eBaron Davis to rebuild for the future. He is always an injury worry anyway. The Clippers are suggested as the likely destination as he is from LA. I can see the sense in it in having an inside outside attack with Brand and Davis. But Marko Jaric is doing very well this year and improving all the time. Maybe their money could be better spent on a center in the offseason. Maybe Miami could part with Eddie Jones for Baron? Anyone have any ideas on where he could end up?

I think thats right. Also Miami seem to have great locker room chemistry. Even though Eddie Jones isnt playing great at the moment, he is popular with the team and importantly gets on with Shaq. It would be very dangerous to trade for a perceived team cancer in Carter and ruin that chemistry.

I hear what you are saying and they are good points - especially the point about telling Seattle about their next play (that deserves serious punishment). But I would just think that they could have got at least one cheap guy with potential like an Eddy Curry. I realise they then have to pay him later, but if they are trying to get young talent with their picks anyway at least they have the rest of the season to audition a guy before deciding if they want to keep him. My bet is that the change (and playing with Kidd) will revitalise Carter into improving his game again. If that happens it is a great trade for the Nets.

Vince Carter for Eric Williams, Aaron Williams, Zo (who they will buy out) and 2 conditional draft picks....? What were the Raptors thinking??? Surely they could have got at least one star or young guy with potential back..?? Eddy Curry?? Baron Davis?? Shareef Abdur-Rahim?? I dont get this trade. Unless they get real lucky with the draft picks this trade is a big blooper for them. Now the Nets get a star without losing anything from their core and probably lots more fans in seats. Great trade for them.

also - although he has been a great player in waiting since he entered the league Amare Stoudemire has absolutely caught fire this season. He has definitely taken the next step.

For me so far it is either: Chris Wilcox - 15.5ppg 7.5rpg 54% from the field; or Kyle Korver - 12.7ppg 3.9rpg 2.1apg 50% from the field and 45% from downtown. These guys have really come out of obscurity to play very well and post good numbers this year. Anyone else have anyone that has taken them by surprise?

I see Stoudemire taking that one...he's an animal down low

The Wiz have been a bit of a joke for a number of years since their first round loss to the Jordan led Bulls when they had Howard and Webber. But this year I think they could be a surprise and make the playoffs. Look at the starting 5: Gilbert Arenas, Larry Hughes, Jarvis Hayes, Kwame Brown, Antawn Jamison. Then there are still decent players on the bench like Brendan Haywood, Etan Thomas and Jared Jeffries. Hayes could get the most improved award this year. he had averages of almost 10ppg and 4rpg last year but has been stellar in pre-season dropping 31 and 14 last time out. Jamison, Arenas and Brown all have something to prove and scoring definitely shoudl not be a problem with this team. Arenas and Jamison almost led the Warriors to the playoffs last time they were together and they may have a deeper team in a weaker conference in Washington. I see them at least being the 6 spot and even getting out of the first round for the 1st time in a long time. Anyone agree?

incidentally, that Glen Johnson knockout on Roy Jones was nasty... time for Roy to retire I think...and not the basketball court.

He was more or less a 10 and 5 guy in 20 minutes last season, but his potential is to be a lot more productive than that. The Grizz seem to have been slow to offer anything too lucrative to him up to this point. So should the Hawks try and pick up a steal? He could man the middle or back up Walker at the 4 spot and he is still very young.

So the Hawks sign veterans Jon Barry and Kenny Anderson and are now looking at 42 year old center Kevin Willis! Still he could actually be a good pick in terms of moving into a coaching role next season. He could probably help Drobjnak too with his game. I dont think the Hawks have done too badly this offseason even if there wasnt a top line free agent pick up. The front line especially looks pretty versatile with Walker and Harrington and Josh Smith learning behind them.

...but he is also 31, is owed $90m and is coming off knee surgery. And the team has no chance of the title. so the Nets want to get rid of him. If other teams dont want to take a $90m gamble on him then they have to take back less value.

http://www.cbs.sportsline.com/nba/story/7681034 CBS are reporting a rumoured Kidd for Abdur-Rahim trade. Although other players will be involved it seems like a good fit for the Nets. They will not challenge for the title this year as Martin is gone and Kittles is gone. So they might as well rebuild. In Abdur Rahim they get flexibility as it is the last year of his deal, so they could let his $15m come off the cap next year. If the deal is done however the Blazers must have to make further moves or they will have Kidd, Damon Stoudemire, Van Exel and Telfair at PG. The obvious one to move is Stoudemire as they have just traded for Van Exel who can also play the 2. But it still seems an odd one for Portland.

MJ over Zo when he was in Charlotte... You gotta love some of those Porter to Drexler alley oops...and Payton to Kemp come to think of it... and still Spud Webb in the dunk contest...wow

http://msn.foxsports.com/story/2707486 Fox is reporting that Jordan is playing a lot of ball with the likes of Michael FInley and Antoine Walker this summmer. Could he be making a comeback. Fox reports that he could be a missing piece of the puzzle for several contenders including the Miami Heat. That would certainly have all the ingredients for a massive story this year with Shaq looking for proof that it was him that got those rings in LA, and MJ looking to prove he still has what it takes when he is with a decent team. Wow - it would be something to see...!

The following guys have shone in different ways in the Olympics and shown they have the game for the top level. As the Hawks still have cap room they might want to look at these guys: Pero Cameron, New Zealand. 6-7 power forward. He can shoot, is a tough defender and Larry Brown wants him in Detroit. Sarunas Jasikevicius, Lithuania. 6-4 point guard who played collegiately at Maryland, and maybe the player of the tournament so far. He has won the Euroleague the last 2 years. Dejan Bodiroga, Serbia and Montenegro. 6-9 small forward / shooting guard. They had a bad tournament, but this guy can play 3 positions, can pass and shoot and has been the best player in Europe for several years. Any one of them could help. Anyone think anyone else should be considered?

it seems to me that the us team has one game plan - get it down low to Duncan as the only way that the team is getting points is through him or Allen Iverson throwing up a range of jumpers. The team would be far better if there was a specialist shooter or two to mix up the offense. Imagine the team with Brent Barry in the offense for spells or Ray Allen or even Jim Jackson - a player who consistently knocked them down last year from downtown. That would give the team a better inside outside offense. It seems to me that the selectors of USA basketball are to blame too. I know that lots of the top stars turned the team down, but that doesnt mean you take the most marketable guy left available. This is a competition. It would have been better to send a team with a better mix of players with defined roles. Its a zone game - so take some shooters like Barry and Jackson and a guy who can stand in the middle all day and block shots next to Duncan - I would have taken Theo Ratliff. Maybe Okafor could do this job, but as he hasnt played it is hard know.