SB Nation - Linas Kleiza

10 YEARS OF STIFFDOM: A Decade Retrospective...

Andrew Feinstein — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:04:03 -0000

Who knew that at the beginning of the '00s - with none other than Dan Issel in charge - that the Nuggets would end up having a successful and often thrilling decade? Here's a look back at the last 10 years of Denver Nuggets basketball...

At the conclusion of the 1990s, the Nuggets were in utter disarray. As documented in detail here at Denver Stiffs, this once proud and respected franchise had been turned into an NBA laughingstock thanks to a lethal combination of ineptitude, incompetence, and ignorance. Between 1990 and 1999, the Nuggets made the playoffs just twice and Nuggets fans were forced to endure seasons with win totals under 40 games eight times (including the lockout shortened 1998-99 season in which the Nuggets would likely have "won" about 25 games had an 82-game season been played out). We witnessed five seasons in which the Nuggets won less than 24 games, and in 1997-98 the 11-win Nuggets won less games than the Broncos that year.

Making matters worse throughout the 1990s, the Nuggets never caught a break. Even though they participated in eight NBA Draft lotteries, twice sported the worst record in the NBA (1990-91 and again after that infamous 1997-98 campaign) and had a bottom-four record five total times, the highest pick they were ever rewarded was third (which Issel promptly screwed up by drafting Raef LaFrentz over Vince Carter, Paul Pierce, Dirk Nowitzki and Antawn Jamison). We missed out on all the game-changing draftees of the 1990s: Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Chris Webber and Tim Duncan. And a freak knee injury sustained by rising star LaPhonso Ellis in 1994 would prove to be the undoing of the Nuggets only good team of the decade: the 1993-94 squad that had just stunned the NBA world by beating the number-one seeded Seattle Supersonics in the playoffs before taking the Utah Jazz to seven in Round 2.

But make no mistake about it, the Nuggets problems throughout the 1990s were self-inflicted. Cartoonish figures such as Peter Bynoe, Bertram Lee, the Comsat "Corporation," Paul Westhead, Bernie Bickerstaff, Allan Bristow and finally, Issel, made every wrong/bad decision possible, leaving the Nuggets organization in tatters until Stanley E. Kroenke rescued the franchise in 2000 with his purchase of the team. Upon arrival, Kroenke made it clear that he wanted to win and win now, and thus set in motion a series of events that produced one of the better decades in franchise history...

2000-2001 (40-42, no playoffs)

In an increasingly tough Western Conference, the Nuggets remarkably won 40 games but were still seven games off the eighth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves. While a 40-win season would normally be a good thing having come off a 35-win season, team "president", "head coach" and dictator Dan Issel had already mortgaged the Nuggets future by sending away numerous first round picks in order to build that 40-win team.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Antonio McDyess

Coming off a gold-medal winning performance in the Sydney Olympics, McDyess was a stud in 2000-01. The quiet, dignified power forward averaged 20.8 ppg, 12.1 rpg and 1.5 bpg and even made the All-Star team.

Stiff of the Year: Dan Issel

The aforementioned Issel had previously (and foolishly) traded away the Nuggets own first round picks for 1999, 2000 and 2001 - all lottery picks, mind you - and after an assortment of complicated, even more stupid deals, for those picks he essentially brought back Tariq Abdul-Wahad, Kevin Willis (on the very wrong side of his career), Voshon Lenard and Tracy Murray. But that was just off-the-court. On-the-court, Issel was a tyrant with his players and the refs. At one point, his players were so fed up with the way he was treating Raef LaFrentz (a draft bust of Issel's own making) and others, that point guard Nick Van Exel led a player boycott of practice.

2001-02 (27-55, no playoffs)

After years of overpaying for mediocre players and parting with valuable first round picks in exchange for nothing, the wheels finally came off the Issel Administration and the Nuggets fell apart in 2001-02, precipitated by a major knee injury to McDyess that caused him to miss all but 10 games of the season. Prior to the season starting, Kroenke - either sensing that Issel had too much power, was too incompetent or both - astutely hired Kiki Vandeweghe as GM to a five-year contract.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Kiki Vandeweghe

After Issel "resigned" the day after Christmas (more on that shortly), Vandeweghe gutted out the roster and made a controversial move that would put the Nuggets on the path of success they still enjoy today. Knowing the Nuggets were going nowhere with the expensive roster he inherited, Vandeweghe boldly shipped out Van Exel, LaFrentz, Abdul-Wahad and Avery Johnson (another overpayee thanks to Issel) to Dallas in exchange for Juwan Howard, Tim Hardaway, Donnell Harvey and a future first round pick. When the Nuggets eventually met the Mavericks in the 2009 playoffs second round, I detailed how that major trade actually brought the two once dormant franchises together.

Stiff of the Year: Dan Issel

"Go drink another beer, you Mexican piece of shit!" Those nine words - uttered by Issel towards a heckling Hispanic Nuggets fan after a December 10th loss to the Charlotte Hornets - were exactly what Kroenke and Vandeweghe needed to kick Issel out the door. Issel, a Nuggets legend as a player, had built up so much great PR in the community (he still has some...note Woody Paige's ludicrous suggestion that the Nuggets bring Issel back to the organization last year) that he would have been tough to fire otherwise. After serving a four-game suspension, Issel "resigned" on December 26th, 2001 and unfortunately for Issel, things haven't exactly worked out for him since.

Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: Tim Hardaway

Unlike Howard who - knowing playing in Denver would be a brutal, losing situation - accepted the trade to the Nuggets and behaved like a total professional during his time here (it helps when you're getting paid $18.8 and then $20.1 million per season!), Hardaway was a petulant, angry brat who never got over leaving Dallas where he was hoping to gravy train his way into an NBA Championship. After starting 14 games for the Nuggets, Hardaway unleashed his anger on a TV monitor by throwing it onto the floor and getting himself suspended two games.

2002-03 (17-65, no playoffs)

Entering the 2002-03 NBA season, Vandeweghe purposefully compiled the worst roster in modern NBA history in hopes of tanking enough games to win the first pick in the draft (knowing that on the horizon was one of the better drafts in NBA history). The Nuggets starting back court of Vincent Yarbrough and Junior Harrington couldn't crack a 14-man roster the following season, and the rest of the roster was littered with names you already don't remember. Armed with two lottery picks - thanks to a great trade that sent McDyess to New York in exchange for Marcus Camby and the Knicks lottery pick - Vandeweghe drafted Nene and some skinny kid from Georgia, and I'm not talking about the university (more on him shortly).

Non-Stiff of the Year: Jeff Bzdelik

In spite of being dealt the worst hand ever dealt a coach in modern NBA history, rookie head coach Jeff Bzdelik refused to make excuses, worked his ass off and was able to get 17 wins out of our Nuggets. I'd argue that was 17 more wins than they should have had and Bzdelik should have gotten Coach of the Year consideration. The Nuggets were awful talent-wise, but they played harder than their opponent almost every night.

Stiff of the Year: Nikoloz Tskitishvili

Drafted fifth overall out of the Republic of Georgia, "Skita" has since gone down in history as the worst fifth overall pick of all time (and believe me, there have been some bad fifth overall picks). Given ample opportunity to succeed in his first season, Skita - listed at seven-feet tall - shot 29.3% from the field as a rookie. At a game in Los Angeles against the Lakers, I once saw Skita shoot a wide open shot in which the ball hit the shot clock first before getting anywhere near the backboard or rim.

2003-04 (43-39, 1-4 in the playoffs)

A full 10 years after upsetting the Sonics in the playoffs, the Nuggets finally got their act together and Coloradoans cared about basketball again. Unable to shake the Nuggets streak of bad luck with the Draft Lottery, Vandeweghe got lucky nonetheless thanks to Detroit GM Joe Dumars' stupidly drafting Darko Milicic (i.e. Skita 2.0), leaving Syracuse star/stud Carmelo Anthony available with the third overall pick. And with Howard's giant contract coming off the books, Vandeweghe was finally able to spend Kroenke's money. Free agent signees Andre Miller, Jon Barry and Earl Boykins joined Melo, Nene and a healthy Camby. Under Bzdelik's stewardship, the Nuggets won 43 games and put up a respectable fight against the Timberwolves in the playoffs first round. As fans, we were happy just to be in the playoffs!

Non-Stiff of the Year: Carmelo Anthony

For the first time since Alex English last donned a rainbow jersey, the Nuggets had a perennial All-Star caliber player in Melo. As a rookie, Melo averaged 21 ppg and 6.1 rpg while giving fellow rookie phenom LeBron James a run for the Rookie of the Year Award. But more importantly, Melo led the Nuggets back to the postseason in a hyper-competitive Western Conference, whereas LBJ couldn't do the same in Cleveland in the weakened Eastern Conference.

Stiff of the Year: Rodney White

Playing for his next contract after his rookie deal was due to expire in two seasons, White gave the Nuggets next-to-nothing in 2003-04 even though he appeared in 72 games and received 14 minutes of playing time per game. Just a few years removed from being the ninth overall pick to Detroit (ahem...Joe Dumars again), White would be out of the NBA completely after the 2004-05 campaign. But hey, at least he was nominated for the Denver Stiffs Hall of Fame!

2004-05 (49-33, 1-4 in the playoffs)

Wanting to build upon the Nuggets newly found success (and at Kroenke's alleged insistence), Vandeweghe spent the entire 2004 offseason shopping for a big name free agent to bring to Denver. After being turned down by Manu Ginobili and Brad Miller, Vandeweghe panicked and got duped into sending three number one picks to New Jersey for Kenyon Martin in a sign-and-trade deal. K-Mart's price tag? $90 million over seven seasons. Under immense pressure to win more games, Bzdelik and the Nuggets floundered out of the gate, starting out 13-15 before Bzdelik got sacked and replaced by a former WNBA coach (Michael Cooper) who went 4-10 as coach of the team.

Non-Stiff of the Year: George Karl

Inheriting a 17-25 team loaded with talent but without any direction and big egos to boot, Karl's no-nonsense, "my way or the highway" approach immediately turned the Nuggets fortunes around. With only 40 games to work with, Karl guided the Nuggets to a 32-8 record (the best in NBA history after a mid-season coaching switch) and had the Nuggets playing the best basketball in the NBA down the stretch of the regular season.

Stiff of the Year: Kiki Vandeweghe

By acquiring K-Mart, Vandeweghe essentially panicked while throwing away all of the salary cap flexibility he had worked so hard and smartly to cultivate. But worse than that, Vandeweghe was eerily silent while Bzdelik was left to twist in the wind as the Nuggets struggled early in the season. Vandeweghe never publicly defended the one man willing to coach the dreadful 2002-03 roster that Vandeweghe had assembled, and Kiki made matters worse by bringing in Cooper to take over as head coach. The Cooper hire cost the Nuggets a higher playoff seed.

Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: Carmelo Anthony

Melo couldn't stay out of trouble in 2004. First, he was cited for marijuana possession at DIA that his cousin conveniently took the blame for (the old "that wasn't my pot!" excuse). Second, he feuded with Olympic coach Larry Brown in Athens and found himself benched on the 2004 Team USA that embarrassingly finished with a bronze medal. Third - and perhaps the worst/dumbest - Melo was caught on a "Stop Snitching" DVD in which alleged drug dealers explain what happens to people who cooperate with the police. Melo didn't improve much on the floor, either, and found himself (rightfully) in Karl's doghouse early and often.

2005-06 (44-38, 1-4 in the playoffs)

Unable to build off the team's incredible run under Karl to conclude the previous season, injuries ravaged the Nuggets and they limped their way to a 44-38 record. K-Mart and Camby missed 26 games apiece and most tragically, Nene succumbed to the Nuggets power forward curse and was lost for the season with an ACL and MCL tear after just one game. At the time, the Nuggets marketing and PR team spun the season as as success under the guise of "Northwest Division Champs" and that the Nuggets were a three-seed entering the postseason. But this was before the NBA properly seeded division winners who have mediocre records. The Nuggets were such a weak three-seed, that the Clippers purposely tanked games to face them in the first round...and when they got their wish, the Clippers clocked the Nuggets in five games. Oh, and that was the Clippers only playoff series win since becoming the Clippers in 1978. Overall, the season was a mess from from the top down (as chronicled in detail at the time by the Denver Post's Thomas George). Vandeweghe would be let go at season's end and was replaced by Mark Warkentien (and eventually Rex Chapman, too). Dysfunction, egos and injuries had set the Nuggets back a few steps.

Non-Stiff of the Year: (tie) Carmelo Anthony and Andre Miller

Melo and Miller played in 80 and 82 games, respectively, and carried the Nuggets in 2005-06. Melo improved his scoring average by over six points per game and his field goal percentage went up, as well. Miller - the modern day NBA "iron man" even if he doesn't condition well in the offseason - was a steady hand as always, starting in all 82 games and dishing out over eight assists per game.

Stiff of the Year: Kenyon Martin

Recovering from microfracture surgery and frustrated by knee tendinitis, K-Mart was pretty surly for much of the season and was morphing into a locker room cancer. He allegedly didn't get along with coaches or teammates (according to George's article, K-Mart's teammates questioned his commitment to recovery and work ethic) and it all came to an ugly head during halftime of Game 2 at Los Angeles, when K-Mart went at it with Karl and several teammates. K-Mart was benched for the remainder of the game and eventually su spended for the duration of the series.

Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: Reggie Evans

As perhaps a microcosm of the dysfunction and lack of respect for the game that was taking over the Nuggets, "The Joker" grabbed Clippers center Chris Kaman's testicles while fighting for a rebound during Game 1 of the Clippers series.

2006-07 (45-37, 1-4 in the playoffs)

In spite of it being K-Mart's turn to succumb to the Nuggets power forward curse (he would play just two games all season) and losing their first three straight games by a total of five points, the Nuggets would win 12 of their first 21 games with Melo playing the best basketball of his career. That all changed abruptly on Saturday, December 16th, 2006. In New York facing the Knicks (who had embarrassingly beaten the Nuggets in Denver in Game 3 of the season), the Nuggets found themselves up 19 with 75 seconds to go. Karl - alleged by some to want to rub the victory in Knicks coach Isiah Thomas' face (Thomas had recently sandbagged Karl's good friend Larry Brown) - left his starters on the floor, prompting Thomas to send in his "goon squad" and make the Nuggets pay. What began as a hard, unnecessary, dangerous, around-the-neck foul on J.R. Smith by the Knicks' Mardy Collins erupted into a full-scale brawl...culminating with Melo's cheap shot punch on Collins. Melo would be suspended 15 games and Smith 10, prompting Nuggets management to attempt to salvage the season by bringing in super star guard Allen Iverson from Philadelphia in exchange for Miller, Joe Smith and two first round picks. Little did we know that the fun was just beginning.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Allen Iverson

Welcomed with open arms by Nuggets fans and his new teammates, Iverson made an immediate impact on the Nuggets (on and off the floor, in good ways and bad). But with Melo out 15 games, Iverson was able to keep the Nuggets afloat and competitive almost by himself. When Melo and Iverson finally got to play together for a long stretch, the Nuggets reeled off nine straight wins and 10 of 11 to finish out the season strong as the hottest team in the NBA.

Stiff of the Year: Isiah Thomas

In addition to sinking the Raptors as an incompetent vice president, sinking the CBA in a summer as an incompetent commissioner and sinking the Knicks as an incompetent president/coach/alleged sexual harrasser (hell, Isiah was an incompetent broadcaster, too), Isiah would sink the Nuggets season in one fell swoop by commandeering his players to take out the Nuggets starters in that game.

Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: (tie) Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith

Even though Isiah "started it," Melo and J.R. were unable to keep their heads cool and unnecessarily exacerbated an already ugly situation, ruining the Nuggets entire season as a result.

2007-08 (50-32, 0-4 in the playoffs)

Entering 2007-08, the Nuggets would finally have a training camp with their full roster participating from the get-go. With Melo and Iverson having ample time to play together, optimism in Denver was higher than it had been since entering the 2004-05 campaign. So high was the optimism, in fact, that Kroenke had over $83 million invested in the team's payroll (second or third highest in the league at the time) and Melo and K-Mart started floating out "60 wins" as a realistic goal. But even with Iverson appearing in all 82 games, Camby playing 79, Melo 77, K-Mart 71 and vast improvements seen in the games of bench players J.R. Smith and Linas Kleiza, the Nuggets weren't able to secure a playoff spot (an eighth seed no less) until the 79th game of the season with a big win at Golden State. As an eighth seed, the Nuggets got worked over by the Lakers in an embarrassing four-game sweep: a series which saw Melo bark at Karl "don't just sit there!" and the benching of Iverson early in Game 3 that didn't go over well. Prior to the Nuggets final regular season game, Melo would get arrested on suspicion of a DUI. It became evident that the A.I. experiment was an expensive failure.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Nene

After being diagnosed with testicular cancer and undergoing surgery to remove his right testicle, Nene remarkably returned to play again on March 27th against the Mavericks, giving the Nuggets a much needed emotional boost that helped them secure a playoff spot down the stretch.

Stiff of the Year: George Karl

Stuck in an admittedly tumultuous and difficult situation, Karl spent much of the 2007-08 sitting on his hands during games while the Nuggets unraveled on the court. While the Nuggets head coach got called for just one technical foul all season (second to last in the NBA), his players finished in the top two in personal fouls, technical fouls, flagrant fouls and ejections. The inmates were running the asylum as Karl's coaching record in Denver got extended to a paltry 3-16 over four years. Karl would later admit to SI.com that "...the last couple of years, I was confused." Watching Karl's Nuggets routinely take nights off that season, so were we.

2008-09 (54-28, 10-6 in the playoffs)

Disappointed with his lack of return on investment, Kroenke gave an edict to management to slash payroll during the 2008 offseason. Camby would be shipped out to the Clippers in exchange for a trade exception, coach and fan favorite Eduardo Najera would not be re-signed, Iverson's contract wouldn't be extended and things were looking grim entering the 2008-09 campaign. But what loomed as a disaster instead became a season of reformation and rejuvenation. Karl came into training camp as "Fiery George" again, Melo won a gold medal with Team USA and learned a thing or two from Kobe Bryant on what an NBA work ethic really is and K-Mart, fully healthy, came into camp with an apology to his coach and teammates and a vow to work harder and play better. With former NBA castaways Chris "Birdman" Andersen and Dahntay Jones added for next-to-nothing (by NBA salary standards) and Nene in real basketball shape for the first time ever, the Nuggets were quietly confident that they had a special season on their hands.

The lone chink in the Nuggets newfound armor would be Iverson who, upset by not receiving a contract extension, showed up to camp out of shape and several steps slow. Remarkably, Nuggets management was able to pull off one of the great trades in Nuggets history by shipping Iverson to Detroit for Chauncey Billups. By adding Billups to a roster primed to take off, the Nuggets would shock the basketball world by tying a franchise record with 54 wins and going toe-to-toe with the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. Simply put, it was the greatest full season of Nuggets basketball since the 1984-85 Nuggets made it to the conference finals and hopefully a sign of more good things to come in the decade ahead.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Chauncey Billups

The Denver-born Billups - who had been cast off by Issel years earlier without ever given a fair hearing as a Nugget - immediately proved to be the perfect leader for the Nuggets. Coming off six consecutive conference finals appearances with the Pistons, Billups would make it seven when he led the Nuggets there.

Non-Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: (tie) Nuggets Management and George Karl

After years of placing talent over character, the Nuggets GM "troika" of Warkentien, Chapman and team adviser Bret Bearup had assembled a roster stocked with good character guys and also deserve credit for not panicking after the 2008 playoff debacle. Warkentien would be rewarded with the NBA's Executive of the Year Award, but it should have been shared by all three guys. Karl, meanwhile, turned in one of his finest performances as an NBA head coach while bridging whatever gap had existed between him and his mercurial stars Melo, J.R. and K-Mart.

Stiff of the Year: Allen Iverson

The NBA will soon be announcing their "All Decade Team" and it will be fascinating to see if A.I. makes the squad. One of the greatest players of the decade, Iverson ultimately proved to be a bad fit for the Nuggets and a bad influence on Melo and J.R. This became painfully clear when the Pistons imploded after bringing Iverson on board in exchange for Billups.

Overall, the '00s were a great decade for Nuggets basketball: six straight playoff appearances, two 50-plus win seasons, All-Star players and thrilling performances (how many game-tying and game-winning shots has Melo made?!). And while it would have been nice to see a few more playoff series victories prior to last season, the memories of the Bickerstaff and Issel Administrations are still prominent enough for me to appreciate what's been going on recently.

Fortunately for Nuggets fans, four of our best players - Melo, J.R., Nene and rookie Ty Lawson - still have many seasons ahead of them and hopefully will remain in a Nuggets uniform into the next decade. At the very least, we're guaranteed that the new decade starts out reasonably well and it will be fascinating to see where this franchise is standing in 2020.

Thanks for the memories and Go Nuggets!!

Photos courtesy of AP and NBAE/Getty Images

Are NBA games fixed?...

Andrew Feinstein — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 07:24:05 -0000

Now that Tim Donaghy is talking, so are NBA fans worldwide. And the question on everyone's mind (except Lakers fans) is: are NBA games fixed? What if I told you: sort of, but the problems with NBA refereeing can go away with three simple solutions.

Watching disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy's interview on "60 Minutes" last night, here are my reactions - as a fan of a small market team - to Donaghy's four most debated allegations. At the end I'll give my very simple solutions to solve the many problems - all legitimate whether you believe Donaghy's honesty or not - that Donaghy has brought to light...

Based on insider information, including referee crews, Donaghy could pick the winner 75-80% of the time.

This one I believe 100%. I've talked to a number of people affiliated with the league in the past who have told me that if they could bet on games (rightfully illegal if you work for or with the NBA), they'd be right over 75% of the time. Think about your own workplace for a moment. Think about all the secrets, off-the-record and under-the-radar information you know about everyone around you. Now transplant that to the NBA, and if you were a league employee of any sort (coach, player, trainer, ref, etc), you'd know all kinds of details that the average gambling fan would never know - ranging from personal problems with the players and coaches to ref biases to health issues unreported. It's the very definition of "insider training."

Certain referees have biases - good or bad - against certain players and coaches.

I was beside myself in shock to hear this one! (I'm being sarcastic in case you didn't pick up on that.) As my stepfather would proudly say: "No shit, Sherlock". I've often written on this blog that the fundamental problem with NBA refereeing is that they ref the player and not the play (borrowing that line from my Lakers fan cousin Paul). This has been going on since the NBA's infancy and will forever continue. This is also why I can't stand players who whine with officials because I believe it exacerbates the problem. At the end of the day, refs are human beings and if they're getting barked at constantly by the same player (read: Smith, J.R.) and perhaps in an inappropriate manner, the refs will inevitably - even if it's just subconscious - screw the player with bad calls.

Even though he bet on games that he was refereeing, Donaghy didn't let that influence how he called the game.

Even though the FBI claims that this statement holds up, I'm still not buying it. As part of their "Outside the Lines" piece on this whole Donaghy fiasco, ESPN's Scott Van Pelt probed Donaghy a bit further on this one but Donaghy is standing by his statement. I just can't imagine a degenerate gambler unable to resist blowing the whistle here or there to favor a bet he made, especially in garbage time.

The NBA has a star system and refs are told to call games a certain way to ensure big market teams led by big stars end up victorious.

There's no question that the overall NBA benefits from having its big market teams and big stars competing in June every summer. That said, I've never thought that the NBA can outright fix games through their officials but rather, can "nudge" outcomes in certain directions. I've also never bought that an edict comes from NBA commissioner David Stern's office to call games in one way or the other, but do think that it's implied as to how a game should be called among the refereeing fraternity. (If a memo was sent from NBA headquarters to officials to sway games in a specific direction, don't you think one would have leaked out by now? Just ask Tiger Woods how well secrecy via digital communication goes over in 2009.)

We've seen a "star system" time and time again since the NBA's inception (mostly benefiting the Lakers recently and Michael Jordan's Bulls in years past as current examples) and as a Nuggets fan, I've learned to live with it. I've always believed that when you're playing a team like the Lakers or the Celtics and it's in the NBA's best interest for them to win, it just means you - as the small market team - have to have a better game plan, play harder, avoid mistakes and keep your mouth shut with the refs. Make no mistake about it: the Nuggets didn't lose to the Lakers in the 2009 Western Conference Finals because of bad officiating. Bennett Salvatore didn't throw two errant inbounds passes for Denver or light up the Nuggets like Kobe Bryant did in the first half of Game 6 to seal the series for Los Angeles.

But what about the 2002 Sacramento Kings, you ask? The Kings didn't lose the 2002 WCF to the Lakers due to bad officiating either, but certainly lost one key game, Game 6, due to horrendous officiating that swayed the Lakers victory (I'm sorry Lakers fans, but the 15 foul shot disparity is too great to ignore). But whomever ref'd game Game 7 didn't miss the numerous free throws - 14 missed freebies in total on 53% FT shooting - that cost the Kings that series. Now Game 7 of the 2000 WCF with the Trail Blazers is a different story. That was a blatant example of the NBA aiding and abetting the Lakers to victory. The free throw disparity was Lakers 37, Blazers 16: an abomination that the NBA should forever be embarrassed about.

So if you're scoring at home, I'm buying about half of what Donaghy is saying...but already knew/assumed most of that stuff about NBA refereeing in the first place. Which brings up the main argument against Donaghy's accusations: that he's feeding into a preconceived stereotype about NBA refs that all NBA fans - sans myopic, moronic, rose-colored-glasses Lakers fans - already believed was true anyway. In other words, he's throwing fuel on an already simmering fire.

To top things off for Nuggets fans, several of our players - former and current - have been in the eye of this Donaghy storm. During the "60 Minutes" interview, they replayed a Nuggets/Jazz game from January 6th, 2007. A game in which Donaghy claims that the refs were essentially out to get Allen Iverson for having berated referee Steve Javie. Donaghy asserts that Iverson got hacked routinely and calls weren't made and that Iverson was called often for "palming" (i.e. traveling) more frequently than normal as retribution for Iverson's behavior towards Javie. Before you leap to conclusions, read CBSSports.com's Ken Berger column debunking Donaghy's claims about this game, citing that Iverson took more free throw attempts than any other player and was the victim of just one blatant non-call on Mehmet Okur.

The second Nugget whose name came up today was Chauncey Billups, whom Donaghy - in that "Outside the Lines" piece - claims is disliked by some officials. I'm not surprised, actually. Billups may be a great leader, great community member and great player (yes, yes and yes), but he's a whiner. And so is Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith, Kenyon Martin and before this season, you could throw Iverson, Marcus Camby, Dahntay Jones and Linas Kleiza onto the All-Whining Team, too. Maybe I watch the Nuggets too much to fairly compare their constant complaining against the complaining of other teams, but other than the Spurs and Kobe Bryant, are there bigger whiners with the refs in the NBA than our Nuggets? Hence why we haven't gotten a lot of favorable calls over the years, and I've mentioned this ad nauseum on this site in the past.

But back to the title of this column: Are NBA games fixed? Sort of, but not in a way that a good game plan can't overcome (Lakers/Blazers Game 7 is an extreme example that I've had trouble finding a duplicate of). If I thought NBA games were fixed or premeditated in any way, I wouldn't give the NBA a nickel of my money for tickets and merchandise, and certainly wouldn't spend the hours I devote to covering the Nuggets and the NBA with this site.

That said, Donaghy has a lot of valid points that must be addressed and I just so happen to have solutions to the three main problems that have made NBA refereeing a running joke as of late.

Solution #1: Referee "stats" must be made transparent and available

How is it that I know how many times Ty Lawson gets his shot blocked per game but don't know how many times Bennett Salvatore calls traveling per game? Or how many times Dick Bavetta calls offensive charges per game? Or how many times Bavetta calls offensive charges against the Nuggets specifically at Pepsi Center vs. on the road? Long ago suggested by Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and recently proposed by ESPN.com's Bill Simmons, we MUST have transparent statistics for referees. The NBA claims that it keeps detailed records to review their refs. If this is true, where are these records and why aren't they online for everyone to see? Moreover, I suspect many NBA teams (hopefully including the Nuggets) keep their own internal "ref stats" so they can make the necessary adjustments when facing a Salvatore vs. a Bavetta vs. a Javie, etc. Make these stats public already, dammit!

Solution #2: Disallow players from talking to officials

I hate to legislate emotion out of the game like the NFL does, but if you want to know where referee bias comes from, it comes from interacting with the players too much. Players like Chauncey and Kobe may be perpetual whiners, but there's a method to their madness: they figure that by annoying the shit out of an official for three-and-a-half quarters, they'll get a call their way (or in Kobe's case, multiple calls) when the game is on the line in the fourth quarter. I'm not sure how the NBA would institute this and it would take a while to adjust to it, but if you made barking at officials an automatic technical foul and eliminated the ref/player relationship altogether, we might finally see refs call the plays and not the players anymore. (But don't take my word for it, watch George Karl and former NBA referees tell you themselves in this ESPN "Outside the Lines" piece that aired when the Donaghy story broke last year. Kudos to Denver Stiffs reader Big Mickey D for hunting this down!)

Solution #3: Add more referees and rotate them more sporadically

I was in the minority of NBA fans who wanted to see the replacement refs. In agreement with Simmons, I've long believed that NBA refs are too old, too short and (now clearly) too biased to fairly officiate games. Putting Donaghy's allegations aside, do you really think Dick Bavetta can call an honest game anymore? He's been around way too long. But assuming the NBA isn't going to pull a "Logan's Run" on aging officials, let's at least add more young, tall, and preferably former players to the referee ranks and have more referee crews. This way, the Bavettas and the Salvatores ref specific teams less than they do now, disabling whatever bias they have from eating away at a chunk of a team's season. (Remember when Dan Issel coached the Nuggets and Javie refereed our games it was all but assumed to be a loss? Come to think of it, whenever Issel coached a game during his second stint with the Nuggets we should have assumed the loss.)

As bad as the Donaghy story may be for the integrity of the NBA, I believe in the long run it could be the wake up call the NBA desperately needed. But don't forget the power and the voice that we have as fans because remember, we're taxpayers. When you buy that NBA ticket, NBA league pass, Nuggets workout pants (like I bought today during NBA.com's 20% off men's apparel sale), bobble head dolls, jerseys and so forth, it gives you the right as a taxpayer to voice your opinion when those who collect our hard-earned money (from David Stern to Dick Bavetta) aren't being transparent and earnest with us. All we as fans ask for is a fair fight and the least the NBA can do is prove that it's always a fair fight....even if the Lakers have appeared in half the NBA Finals ever played (I'm just saying).

The NBA should listen to what Donaghy is saying, listen to us and change their ways. It will only make the product we already love much more believable and transparent. Why is that a bad thing?

(I'll be printing this email and mailing it in letter form to David Stern's office tomorrow.)

Photo courtesy of NBAE via Getty Images

Cavaliers go International with visit from Olympiacos

John Bena (aka CavsBlogger) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:09:45 -0000

2009/2010 NBA Preseason
	VS
0-0		2-0
October 12th, 2009
Quicken Loans Arena
7:00 PM
Radio - WTAM 1100AM/FOX SPORTS OHIO
Probable starters:
Teodosic	PG	Daniel Gibson
Linas Kleiza	SG	Anthony Parker
Josh Childress	SF	LeBron James
Vasilopoulos	PF	Anderson Varejao
Schortsanitis	C	Shaquille O'Neal

The Cavaliers go a bit International tonight when Olympiacos invades the Q. While some names are literally foreign to Cavs fans, there are also a couple - Josh Childress and Linas Kleiza - that NBA fans should know fairly well.

For the Cavs, it will survival of the fittest. Mo Williams(Groin), Jemario Moon(Wisdom Teeth) and Danny Green(Contusion) are out of the game with injuires. Add to that Delonte West who is still away from the team due to personal reasons and the Cavaliers will be far from full strength tonight.

Watching the action? Talk about it here.

Spoiler Alert: Denver Nuggets Preview

djturtleface — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:28:38 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

Nene is huge. And he'll need to log huge minutes if the Nuggets don't want to be playing a starting frontcourt with either Malik Allen or Johan Petro. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Browse more photos »

The Nuggets are my second favorite team in the NBA. Let's get that straight right now. I backed the Nuggets all season last year, told everyone that, yes, they were that good, even though nobody believe me that they were a new team. That's the funny thing about the NBA. Sometimes swapping one piece can completely change your team's outlook.

I remember that some stats-heavy analyst was saying that the Chauncey Billups trade didn't make the Nuggets great; the fact that the Nuggets played defense this year made them great. Apparently he's not into making the connect.

My point being that this isn't the same team the Nuggets had last year, just like swapping Allen Iverson for Mr. Big Shot changed their dichotomy last year. The problem, however, is that --unlike acquiring Billups -- I'm not convinced this season's change is for the better.

Preview

As I just pointed out, this season's Nuggets are fit to be a very different squad. Yes, the big pieces are all still in place: Carmelo Anthony, Billups, Kenyon Martin, J.R. Smith, Nene, and the Birdman Chris Andersen. The problem is that the small pieces are all jumbled, and probably not for the better. Losing Linas Kleiza is a bigger deal then most people realize; the Nuggets front-court is only Martin, Nene, Birdman, and Johan Petro -- unless you count Malik Allen, who you very might well have to by the end of the season. That's terrifyingly thin given the fact that Andersen is more of a gadget player than a power forward or center, and K-Mart is notoriously fragile.

That being said there are reasons for positive outlook. Dahntay Jones is really terrible, I mean awful, and anyone watching him play knows that he was basically just playing to keep J.R. Smith from taking all of Carmelo's possessions. Jones wasn't nearly the defender the press made him out to be, and dunking was his only practical skill on offense. Replacing him with Arron Afflalo, who is very talented in the right situation, and with more, older J.R. Swish should be a huge production boost for this team.

The backcourt looks better than ever this season, and I suspect that Ty Lawson will nicely complement Billups, allowing him to play shorter minutes to compensate for his age. Again Afflalo is a useful player, kind of a Battier-lite, and this is the year J.R. pulls things together.

Then there's Carmelo Anthony. Anthony had perhaps his worst offensive season since his rookie year last season, and yet the national media gushed over his talents. Expect a return to a 50% shooting from the field, as well as a little improvement in his passing kid. 'Melo is one of the true NBA superstar franchise players, and I suspect he'll come up even bigger and better this year.

Fantasy Preview

Breakout- Carmelo Anthony- He's really good at scoring and rebounding, and a return to form would make Anthony a first round talent that you can find in the second or third. ESPN has him ranked at #18, which seems about right until you consider that guys like Andre Iguodala, Steve Nash, and Al Jefferson are ahead of him. I'd argue all of those players are even more unproven, with Iguodala never hitting potential, Nash on a short minute leash, and Al Jeff coming off an injury that normally slows players down in their first season back.

Bust- Chauncey Billups- Ranked one spot ahead of Anthony, Billups, like Nash, will be seeing shorter minutes this season, which should be terrifying to fantasy owners. I have a hard time drafting him in the second round -- I'd much rather wait a round for Rondo, Harris, and Calderon.

Useful- J.R. Smith and Nene- Both these guys will probably drop too far in your draft. If you can't tell, I really like the Nuggets for fantasy this season. Draft either in a second if you see them around near their ESPN ranks.

Predictions

My Predictions: 52-30 (ESPN: 51-31) Worth noting here that me and my boy Hollinger have the same number. The Nuggets benefited from a slightly weaker Western Conference last season. I believe that, somehow, both conferences are set to get better this year, as much sense as that makes. But while the other competitors definitely got popping this offseason, the Nuggets were mainly stagnant, though they're no longer a team that can punish teams with its infinite well of scoring. This season Nuggets like J.R. and 'Melo need to become smarter and more efficient scorers -- I think they're up for the change.

Denver Stiffs is great, I read it all the time.

Poll

How many games will the Nuggets win this season?

Over 52 games.

11 votes

Under 52 games.

8 votes

19 votes | Poll has closed

PtR Preseason QuickCap: Olympiacos is Not an NBA Team

Tim C. — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 03:46:02 -0000

That weaksauce? Get it outta here.

OK, let's make this live up to the whole "quick" thing. All I have to go by is a box score, and several PtR members were at this game, so one or more of them should be able to drop a full recap on us.

Tonight the Spurs squared off against Olympiacos B.C., and beat them in convincing fashion(did you expect anything less?), 107-89. One look at the box score will tell you a few things:

The Leaders

George Hill is awesome. Cubits had 17 points, 3 board, 2 assists and shot 5-8 from the field in his 22 minutes of play. Rock on, Cubits, rock on.
Josh Childress is still a really good player. If he ever decides to come back to the states, the Spurs would be wise to provide a home for him.

The Rest

Tim Duncan(10 points, 5 boards, 3 assists) and Tony Parker(12 points, 3 assists) had a better +/- score than anyone else who played in this game. Big surprise, I know.
Manu Ginobili was pretty lackluster, but still chipped in a team-high 5 assists. It's OK Manu, you're still the Manuest, or something like that.
The Spurs got 5 blocked shots tonight: 2 from Timmeh, 2 from Malik Hairston(who was quietly effective again), and 1 from Theo Ratliff.
Richard Jefferson was again not very involved in the offense(going by the boxscore), but managed to get 2 steals on the defensive end to go with his 4 points on 2-2 shooting.
Roger Mason shot 4-5, including 2-3 from long range, for 10 points. It's good to see Roger back in midseason form.
Ian Mahinmi had a redemption game of sorts, coming away with 7 points, 2 rebounds and zero fouls, even though the game was already decided by then.
DeJuan Blair must have switched brains with Ian, as he had 4 fouls to go with the 9 points(mostly on FT's), 2 boards, and 2 steals he picked up.
Every player on the Spurs camp roster played tonight, and all but Marcus Williams and Dwayne Jones scored.
On the Olympiacos side, Von Wafer and Sofoklis Schortsanitis(leading scorer for the Greeks tonight) scored in double figures, though Schortsanitis got in foul trouble.
Linas Kleiza sucked. I wonder if this is because Keith Bogans started and SHUT. HIM. DOWN. Somebody who was at the game might be able to elaborate on this a bit more.
Ioannis Bourousis, of rumored-to-be-offered-a-deal-with-the-Spurs fame, had a less than stellar outing, but still managed to get 7 points, 4 board, and stole the ball from Manu at least once.

Ok, I lied about only going by the boxscore - there's also some video highlights. And photos.

I have no idea why there are no second half highlights as of this writing, which sucks.

all images below via yahoo

Oh man, I hope I don't get me the Bourousis from this.

Hey Josh, will you be my backup next year? OK, fine, I'll back YOU up instead... just come to SA.

Didn't I just beat you last month?

So, the Spurs won a game they were supposed to win, got good performances from most of the guys we're concerned about, and nobody got hurt. Seems like a good outing to me. Next up, the Spurs play in Miami on Sunday night.

Competition Discussion: Denver Nuggets

Mike Prada — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:26:27 -0000

(Previously: Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas).

The season is still a ways away, but most of the rosters are set, barring the requisite Michael Jordan comeback rumor (just kidding, but only a little). We have an idea where our team stands, but we can't really know unless we discuss everyone else. In that spirit, I'm going to throw up a "competition discussion" thread for each of the other 29 teams over the next couple months or so. We'll go in alphabetical order from A to Z. Today's team: Denver. Jump to the comments to discuss the Nuggets and make a prediction on their record.

Last year's record: 54-28 (Pythagorean record: 50-32)

Playoffs: Beat New Orleans 4-1 in first round, beat Dallas 4-1 in second round, lost to LA Lakers 4-2 in Western Conference Finals.

Offensive Rating: 110.4 (7th)

Defensive Rating: 106.8 (8th)

Pace: 94.3 possessions/game (5th)

In: Arron Afflalo, Ty Lawson, Malik Allen
Out: Dahntay Jones, Linas Kleiza

Projected starting lineup: Chauncey Billups, J.R. Smith*, Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin, Nene

*: I'd start Afflalo, but I don't know if Denver will

Key themes:

Is this team really elite or was last year's run to the Western Conference Finals a bit of a fluke?
How much more can Carmelo Anthony's game grow?
How will they handle losing two of their top nine rotation players in Jones and Kleiza? Can Afflalo and others replace them?
Their frontcourt guys (Nene and K-Mart) uncharacteristically stayed healthy, but the Nuggets didn't really increase their depth behind them. Will they stay healthy? Can Denver survive again in the West with only three real quality bigs (them and Birdman)?
What's the next step for J.R. Smith? Does he start? How will his tumultuous summer, which included a bad episode with Twitter, a reckless driving charge and his captain openly calling him out for his immaturity, affect him?
How will management get this roster to improve when they are so up against the luxury tax?
Chauncey Billups will be 33 this year. How will the Nuggets manage his minutes? How much of an impact will Ty Lawson make?
Was Denver's defensive improvement a mirage, or can it be maintained despite the strong personalities on the team?

Last year was the honeymoon stage of the supposed Chauncey Billups/Allen Iverson heist. This year is going to be where the long-term portion of the trade is going to be judged.

What do I mean? I don't think there are too many smart hoops fans who felt the Nuggets would be worse in the short-term with Billups rather than Iverson. (If you were one, shame on you). Billups' game, based mostly on efficiency, leadership and unselfishness, was perfect for a team like Denver that plays so frenetically. It also helped in George Karl's pleas to change Denver's "culture," which was already in transition before Billups came to town. Karl was already installing a new defensive system, and early returns were promising. Billups just made that transition easier. We all should have seen the short-term gains coming.

Of course, I doubt anyone thought Denver was going to have this much success in the short term. By that, I mostly mean playoff success. Denver emerged as a legitimate threat in the West by routing New Orleans, destroying Dallas and giving the Lakers a run for their money. A play here, a play there, and Denver might have made the Finals. Sure, their bracket opened up for them when San Antonio entered the playoffs so banged up, but Denver took advantage of their opportunity and proved their worth against the Lakers. This was and is a damn good basketball team.

But now comes the problem of trying to build on that success, which is a major uphill climb with Denver because of all the long-term salary they have. Adding Billups' long-term contract only made things worse on that front. The short-term gain was four more wins in a weaker West, with all their injury-prone guys playing more games than normal, and a fairly lucky (all things considered) draw to the Western Conference Finals. The long-term cost might be losing resources needed to build on that short-term success. In other words, Denver may have reached its peak with the Billups trade.

All that said, I think Denver did the best it could to improve or at least maintain their position this summer. Dahntay Jones isn't a big loss, and the swap for Arron Afflalo, who does the same things Jones does but costs half as much, was a brilliant move. Letting Linas Kleiza go was also a good decision, because he was never going to get the proper playing time behind Carmelo Anthony to justify a long-term contract. Trading for Ty Lawson on draft day was also a brilliant move because he can immediately play backup point guard minutes.

But none of those moves move the Nuggets too far forward, and there are a few things that could move Denver backwards. For example, Nene played 77 games last year, even though he's averaged just 53 games per season in his career. If he gets injured, that's a huge loss, because he's so underrated and because Denver only has one legitimate backup big man. Also, if JR Smith's summer struggles carry over into the season beyond his seven-game suspension, the Nuggets could take a step back.

At the very least, San Antonio and Portland have certainly passed Denver (though you could argue they were already ahead of Denver last year), and others could too. Denver will still be a factor, but I don't see them getting back to the Western Conference Finals again until the next rebuilding effort.

Mike's prediction: 53-29, second in the Northwest, fifth in the West.

Team	Mike Prada	JakeTheSnake	Truth About It	Rook6980	bwoodsxyz
Atlanta	47-35	44-38	45-37	45-37	45-37
Boston	57-25	55-27	54-28	44-38	56-26
Charlotte	32-50	32-50	29-53	34-48	37-45
Chicago	39-43	40-42	42-40	40-42	44-38
Cleveland	63-19	60-22	64-18	64-18	61-21
Dallas	49-33	44-38	51-31	50-32	47-35
Denver	53-29

Ridiculous Transactions: 8/8-8/14

Jon L — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 14:00:11 -0000

The big transaction news this week was Jeremy Tyler finally landing with an overseas team. (via oregonlive.com)

View full size photo »

Time again for Ridiculous Transactions, where we take a look at some of the signings, trades, and cuts from the past week involving D-League players and some others who may not (or may) be in the NBA. Some of these moves are also discussed during the week, but this is a way to make sure we cover what we need to cover, and hopefully take a larger view on some of these moves (and, truthfully, recurring features are always good in a what-should-I-write-about-today sort of way).

August 10: Jeremy Richardson - signed with Aris BSA (Greece); Kaniel Dickens - signed with SLUC Nancy (France)

Aris also signed Ira Newble, but I'm a little less interested in that. Neither Richardson nor Dickens have played in the D-League for a few years, but depending on what they want to do with their careers both could potentially end up back in the U.S., I would guess. Richardson is a solid scorer, and he's gotten several NBA looks, including a dozen or so games with Orlando last year. Dickens is maybe less likely to make the NBA again, as he's 31 now and has a pretty good skill-set to play in Europe, but he's played a bit for Cleveland and if that team loves one thing it's guys they've heard of.

August 11: Linas Kleiza - signed with Olympiacos Piraeus (Greece)

If I can step over and talk about the NBA for a little bit here, Kleiza going to play in Greece combined with the Sonny Weems trade (which is how I'm referring to it) means that a lot will be on JR Smith this year. Sure the Nuggets signed Arron Afflalo, but that was largely for his defense, and while he improved as a shooter last season he's still not a big scorer. Denver's bench scoring took two hits with Weems leaving town and Kleiza leaving the country, so as the roster stands right now, this is the year JR Smith needs to really put everything together.

August 13: Jeremy Tyler - signed with Maccabi Haifa (Israel)

We've touched on this already, but I'll add that Haifa will play in the Israeli Super League last season for the first time in about a decade, so Tyler will face better competition than he could have (and indeed, I wonder if this was a selling point/reason Vaccaro picked them). I still wonder how much playing time Tyler will end up getting, as last year their starting center was Ido Kozikaro, who also plays on the Israeli national team, and I would imagine he'll start again this year. They also have former Division III Player of the Year Ben Strong and Davon Jefferson, who came out of college too early in 2008 but who was a very good high school player. The bottom line is, Haifa has guys who can play already, and now that they're back in the Super League I'm not sure they'll want to spend the time helping Tyler develop his game. I guess we'll see how this goes.

August 14: Josh Shipp - signed with Izmir (Turkey); Houston Rockets - signed with Chase Budinger; Utah Flash - signed head coach Brad Jones to a one-year contract extension; Reno Bighorns - retained Jay Humphries as head coach.

Shipp went undrafted in this year's NBA Draft but landed on Chicago's Summer League team, and while he shot the ball pretty poorly (.192 overall), he occasionally showed some rebounding ability. Plus, I can tell you that Izmir's really nice (they have really good oranges, olives and cucumbers), though going from living in Los Angeles (Shipp went to UCLA) to a small mountain town will be...different. Budinger played a fair amount in Summer League, and can definitely score, though he doesn't contribute much else at this point. Don't be surprised if he ends up with teh Vipers for a stretch or two this season, as Houston's practically swimming in forwards.

As for the coaches, I thought Jones did a good job last year, managing several NBA assignees and using them to help the Flash reach the D-League finals, so this wasn't really a surprise. I think Humphries is a solid coach as well, a former NBA player and assistant under Mike D'Antoni in Phoenix. Reno just missed the playoffs last year, but if they had Rod Benson for the whole season they could've made it in.

Daily Links 8/12

FLCeltsFan — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:59:54 -0000

Herald Hall of Fame honoring Alonzo Mourning
Kurt Rambis says he couldn’t pass up Timberwolves opportunity
Cavaliers eyeing Leon Powe
Globe Powe leaves Celtics for Cavs
Report: Cavs close to deal with Powe

CelticsBlog    Leon Signs With Cavs
LOY's Place    Did Danny Miss Out?
In the Books - Heinsohn, Don't You Ever Smile? Part 3
Red's Army    Leon Looking for Revenge? Bring It
Celtics tried to get Powe back
There Isn't Room For Leon
Green Street Source: Powe to sign two year deal with Cavs
Celtics Circuit   Lester Hudson? Not Right Now.
Celtics Hub     How will I deal with Powe’s departure?
NESN    Report: Cavaliers Closing in on Powe
Rambis Crosses Paths With McHale Once Again
Celtics Town   Leon Powe's ACL Injury Cost Him A Lot Of Money
Fernsten's Follies   Forecasting the Green
Lex Nihil Novi   Shelden-Baby Presser (in part)
Doc
Fitch Upset About Loss to Bucks (81-82)
The First Baby-Powe Matchup
Layup Drill   Leon Powe disses Boston for Cavs
What Kurt Rambis means to Minnesota
Nick's Sports Blog    Early NBA standings predictions
Every Joe   Leon Powe Joins the Cleveland Cavaliers
Telegram Hiatt court's in order
Crunch Sports Glen Davis Gives Boston Depth
Inside Hoops   NBA rumors - daily nba rumors
Wizards sign Fabricio Oberto
Hoopsworld    NBA AM: What Is Next?
NBA PM: Trades Bolster East
Six Teams On The Way Up
Waiting for Next Year   Anderson’s Allegations, Thoughts on Powe, and Cheesy Browns Posters
NBA Free Agency: Leon Powe to Visit Cleveland
Commercial Appeal    Three others audition for Griz
Rivals    Report: Pitino tells cops he paid for abortion
Inside Bay Area    Former Cal star Leon Powe plays big role in community
Ohio.com   Cavs sign free-agent forward Leon Powe
CSNE    Choosing The New Celtics Dancers
Nola.com   It's re-gain one, lose one for the Boston Celtics
Examiner   Why the Celtics brought Big Baby back
Orato   Stephon Marbury's Online Confessions NBA Star Criticized for Online Behavior
High School Hoop     Austin Rivers not as solid to Florida
Dimemag   The most important 2010 free agent nobody’s talking about
Source: Cavs Sign Leon Powe
ESPN    Source: Cleveland Cavaliers, Leon Powe agree on two-year, $1.77M deal
Sir Charles in Charge    The Latest On Reggie Miller, Leon Powe, Linas Kleiza, and More
Eagle Tribune Celtics present North Andover foster mom with new court
SI.com   Kurt Rambis surrenders Lakers dream for Timberwolves security
Detroit Free Press    Shock's Smith, Zellous make opponents pay at charity stripe
Hardwood Paroxysm   Ten Thousand Strong at Least
Mashable    What Does Google Think of Twitter?

Daily Links 8/11

FLCeltsFan — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:38:34 -0000

Herald Glen Davis signs with Celtics for two more seasons
Shelden Williams comes for fresh start
Pau Gasol has surgery on injured finger
David Kahn: Ricky Rubio’s buyout ’still very problematic’
Nuggets lose Linas Kleiza to Europe
Extras from today’s press conference
Globe Celtics sign Glen Davis, Shelden Williams

CelticsBlog    Please, No Creative PG Solutions
LOY's Place      All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned on Twitter
It's a Sad Day for This Celtics Fan
News and Notes on the Davis and Williams Signings
Brian Scalabrine is good for the team
Celtics 17    Celtics Updates and Analysis
Red's Army    NBA Tough Guys (according to a nudist)
The two most recent Timberwolves coaches
Powe close to signing with Cleveland
Is this REALLY Ray Allen's last season in Boston?
Green Street    Celtics lock up Davis, Williams
Celtics Hub     Powe to Cavs? It’s Almost a Done Deal
NESN    Surplus in the Post Will Help Celtics Return to the Top
North Station Sports    Kevin McHale: The NBA’s Last True Big Man
Ballerblogger     The Fundamentals
Celtics Town Comparing The Current Boston Celtics Frontcourt To 1986's
Fernsten's Follies    KG Needs to Summon His Inner Magic Johnson
Lex Nihil Novi     1981-82 Win Streak Ties Club Record
Battle of the Streaks: KC Jones Compares 1982 to 1960 (81-82)
Celtics Roll to Record 18th Straight Win (81-82)
Sixers Stop Streak at 18 (81-82)
Hardwood Houdini    1984/85/86 Celtics & 2008/09/10 Celtics: A look at the past to see what’s ahead.
CSNE    New Looks for Glen Davis and Danny Ainge
Baby is Baby
Big Baby Back in the Nest
Bleacher Report    Why Ryan Gomes Must Remain a Minnesota Timberwolf, Part Two
Celtics Shore Up Frontcourt, Perimeter Remains Woefully Thin
Eastern Maine Sports     Celtics add to an already deep bench by resigning Davis.
Cavalier Attitude   Boom, Boom, Powe!
Gloucester Times   Big Baby happy to be staying in Boston
Cleveland.com    Source: Cavaliers, forward Powe agree to deal
Cleveland Cavaliers closing in on two-year deal with ex-Celtics forward Leon Powe -
Sports Then and Now   Can Rasheed Wallace Live Up to Celtics Standards?
Yahoo    Former Celtic Powe joining Cleveland Cavaliers
Glen Davis happy to skip packing, stay with Celts
Every Joe   Big Baby stays a Celtic
Dimemag    Don’t believe LeHype?
Basketball Fan Site    The Celtics are the Team to Beat in 2010
Inside Hoops     NBA rumors - daily nba rumors
Hartford Courant    Calhoun Coaches, Even With Broken Ribs
Calhoun Golf Classic
AJC     The Hawks' secret weapon: Shelden the sleeper is a Celtic
Cavs the Blog    Here Comes Leon Powe
Hoopsworld    NBA AM: Still Waiting Out The Knicks
FanHouse    Married Men Kindly Request Reggie Miller Stop Flirting With Their Wives
LSU Sports   Former Tiger Davis Signs Extension with Celtics
LA Times    The Nuggets (and the W.C.) get a little thinner
NECN   Ainge: Front court best since, Bird, McHale, Parish
Orlando Sentinel    Is the Magic's third point guard more crucial than meets the eye?
WHDH   Celtics season ticket holders to get special access at local hospital
WEEI    Big Baby Returns to the Celtics' Crib
ProJo    'Big Baby' says he's happy to be staying with Celtics
Fantasy NBA Zone   The 5 Best Off-Season Moves Go To The Cavs, Magic, Spurs, Celtics, and Lakers
3rd String Safety NBA Offseason: Top 10 Teams That Improved

Kleiza is heading to Greece

Nate Timmons — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:36:02 -0000

The Denver Post is reporting that Linas Kleiza will be signing a 2-year $12 million deal with the Greek club Olympiakos.

I was afraid that LK might leave the Nuggets, but at the same time I didn't think he'd really leave the NBA. Denver loses a key reserve off the bench ... and a guy that causes many-a-fans to smash their heads against walls with his inconsistent play.

I was a fan of LK's game initially, but definitely found myself wondering when he was going to realize his full potential ... that's no longer going to be an issue for me since he's decided to leave the NBA. Denver will still retain his rights as a restricted free agent much like the Atlanta Hawks and Josh Childress. So, if LK wants back in the League ... all paths go through Denver and his $2.7 million qualifying offer.

The end result here is the Nuggets losing another member of a team that went to the Western Conference Finals and a Euro League team has poached another NBA player. How will Denver replace LK? Whether you are a fan of him or not ... the bench is now looking paper thin.

Linas Kleiza 2008-09 Exit Interview.

ntimmons73@yahoo.com

(photo courtesy of AP Photos: Mark Terrill)