There's a growing sense of urgency over at Denver Stiffs regarding their superstar Carmelo Anthony's refusal to sign the contract extension given to him by Denver. It seems like the 2010 Free Agency Bonanza has set off a chain reaction fo paranoia among all fan bases of non-contending teams with a superstar.  Writes one Andrew Feinstein over at Denver Stiffs:

So while many Nuggets fans and members of the Denver media are confident that Melo will stay in Denver ... count me in for being skeptical.  And worried. Why the skepticism?  Because Melo is presumably being counseled by the same characters - Rose and Wesley - who "handled" LeBron's free agency which essentially ruined four franchises (the Cavs, Raptors, Nets and Knicks) while making the Heat a dominant NBA force of years to come.

For Denver fans, Melo's silence on the subject is deafening. In fact many people see his refusal to commit to the Nuggets as the same sort of commitment-deferring antics that a certain Lebron James upheld before his much-heralded exodus. Andrew proceeds to write:

Not only has Melo offered the standard "I have to do what's best for me and my family" lip service to the Denver media and Nuggets fans (which 90% of the time means an athlete or coach is leaving), but it's what he's not saying that should set off the alarm bells.  Anything short of firmly committing to sign that extension - worth almost $84 million as it would include Melo's 2011-12 salary of $18.5 million - and Melo's words are meaningless, just as LeBron and Chris Bosh's words were meaningless for the last two years.  Simply put, nothing Melo has said to date should give Nuggets fans any comfort whatsoever so don't try reading into them.

I personally believe it isn't shrewd for any player/team to reveal their cards early and more than likely what is happening is that Anthony wants to see what happens, both with the next CBA as well as what Denver accomplishes this year before making a long-term decision on where he wants to be for most likely the rest of his prime years. Nevertheless, it's fun to conjure up trade scenarios and that's a part of what blogging is all about. Therefore, the rest of this fanpost will assume that say Anthony, like Chris Paul, is disgruntled with playing the role of perennial first-round fodder and getting tired of either losing to or losing to someone who loses to the Lakers. Let's also assume upper management at Denver, realizing that if they don't act quick to get something for their unhappy superstar will be left out in the cold much like the Cleveland and Toronto, decide to shop him around quietly. Putting these delightful hypotheticals in-place, I want to here your thoughts on 1. Do the Lakers want a player like Carmelo and 2. What should the Lakers trade in order to get him?

*Edit: Keep in mind that Carmelo recently married LaLa who is an entertainer and accustomed to big city life. Also keep in mind that Carmelo Anthony recently bought a house in LA.

If you guys have been paying attention to the Celtics vs. Cavs series, you'll noticed that David Stern mentioned he wanted Lebron to stay in Cleveland. The only way to guarantee that is for Cleveland to win the championship this year, which David Stern has already begun planning:

The Cavs have gotten a total of 30 more free throws already in the Celtics-Cavs series. The free throw disparity was 31-21 in Game 1 and 38-18 in Game 2. Given that Rondo goes to the basket pretty frequently, this definitely is amiss. Could it be that the Cavs are better at getting to the line against the Celtics? No. In four regular season matchups, it was only 130-111, a disparity of only 19. I am not a Celtics apologist, nor do I have any interest in the Celtics doing well. But something is definitely amiss. A FT disparity of 19 through four regular season games (5 per game) vs. a disparity of 30 already in only two games (15 per game) in the playoffs definitely indicates something is going on here.

Perhaps David Stern is also trying to remove Cleveland's primary potential competition, namely the Lakers. The Oklahoma City Thunder shot 50 more free throws than the Lakers through six playoff games. There was no bigger disparity than in game 4 when the Thunder shot 20 more free throws. Now, I know what you're thinking. The Thunder generally get to the line more often than other teams. That line of reasoning would be true except that it doesn't hold against the Lakers. In the four regular season matchups, The Lakers actually took 28 more free throws than the Thunder. So it's not that the Thunder inherently are a team that gets to the line more frequently when playing the Lakers. How do you account for the Lakers taking 28 more FT in the regular season, then in the Playoffs suddenly are - 50 in FT differential? If you don't think this is suspicious, then I don't know what would convince you.

I'm not a conspiracy theorist. Statistically, the free throw disparity is more than significantly significant, given we have regular season data and playoff data between the two teams. You guys can decide for yourself what is going on here, I simply provide the cold facts.

[EDIT] A lot of you guys are commenting below and saying something along the lines of "yeah I agree there's a home vs. away FT disparity, etc. but the refs are human and they're swayed by home crowds". The point of the statistics I gave was to show that the FT disparity isn't coming from home vs. away crowds. If it were the case that it was simply home-cooking officiating, then we wouldn't see such a free throw disparity between regular season series and the playoff series, since LAL and OKC both played two home games against each other in the regular season and three home games against each other in the postseason. They had the same number of games at home for both the regular season and the postseason. What we're witnessing is a systematically different way of officiating the game between the two teams, once the playoffs arrive.

What is the greatest Clutch Shot in Laker history? There are several factors that help factor in deciding how clutch a shot is.

1. It must have occurred during the playoffs for it to be considered of significant importance.

2. It must be unexpected, unlikely.

3. It must have occurred near the end of the game, for it to have significance.

There are other factors too, such as it resulted in a championship or led to the Lakers advancing further in the playoffs. Which of the following is the greatest playoff shot of all-time? They're in Chronological order.

Bob Harrison Game Winner, 1950 NBA Finals Game 1 vs. Syracuse

In Game 1 of the 1950 NBA Finals, the Minneapolis Lakers were looking to defend their first championship as a franchise from the Syracuse Nationals. Bob Harrison nails this long shot at the buzzer to win game 1 and take control of the series.

Jerry West Steal + Layup Game Winner, 1962 NBA Finals Game 3 vs. Boston

This was what gave Jerry West the moniker, "Mr. Clutch". With the game tied at 115, West stepped in front of a pass from Sam Jones intended for Bob Cousy. West deflected the ball, raced down court and layed it in for a 2-1 series lead.

Jerry West 60-foot Game Winner 1970 NBA Finals Game 3 vs. New York

After splitting the first two games, Game 3 proved to be a shaky affair. Down 102-100, West took the inbounds pass from Wilt Chamberlain, dribbled up the court and launched it from half-court, tying the game at 102 and sending the game to overtime.

Magic Johnson "Junior Hook Shot", 1986 NBA Finals Game 4 vs. Boston

With the Lakers up 2-1, but down 103-102 and Bird, Parish and McHale coming at him, Magic steals Kareem's favorite shot, making it and putting the Lakers up by 1 with 2 seconds to go. The Lakers would go on to win the series in six games.

Nick Van Exel 3-point Game Winner, 1995 Western Conference Semifinals vs. San Antonio

Nick Van Exel  hits a half-court shot at the buzzer to give the Lakers a 1-0 lead against the Spurs.

Shaquille O'Neal off Kobe alley-oop, 2000 Western Conference Finals vs. Portland

Down by as many as 16 points in the fourth quarter, the Lakers launch a 20-point comeback, started by Brian Shaw's clutch three and culminating in this alley-oop pass from Kobe Bryant. Kobe dribbled it around Pippen and lobbed it in the air for Shaq to slam down. From the brink of elimination, the Lakers were on their way to their first NBA finals in over a decade.

Robert Horry Game Winner, 2002 Western Conference Finals Game 4 vs. Sacramento

Down 2 games to 1 in the Conference Finals series and two points in game 4 against a talented Kings team, the Lakers looked to tie up the game and send it to overtime. Kobe drives in with 7 seconds left, misses a layup, Shaq misses a put-back, and Vlade Divac, the former Laker, swats it out to Horry at the three-point line who hits the shot as time expires, giving the Lakers the win and a 2-2 series tie. The Lakers would go on to win that series, as well as the finals and put a crown on their dynasty, while Robert Horry would again solidify his image as a clutch shooter and reinforce his moniker of "big-shot Rob".

Derek Fisher 0.4 Game Winner, 2004 Western Conference Semi-finals Game 5 vs. San Antonio

With the series tied 2-2, Kobe hits a jumper with 2 seconds left, but Tim Duncan hits  a ridiculous falling jumper over an Shaq's outstretched hand leaving 0.4 seconds left. Kobe and Shaq being guarded, Payton in-bounds the ball to Fisher who barely has time to turn and shoot. The ball sinks the bottom of the net and just like that, the Lakers have escaped San Antonio with a 3-2 lead and a stunner for the ages.

Kobe Bryant 3-Pointer to Send Game To Overtime, 2004 NBA Finals Game 2 vs. Detroit

Down 1-0 in the series and by 3 points in the 2004 NBA Finals to the underdog Pistons team, the Lakers are on the verge of collapse. Kobe Bryant takes the ball dribbles across the court to the left side and hits a three-pointer with 2.1 seconds left over Rip Hamilton to send the game into overtime. The Lakers would go on to win the game and tie the series 1-1.

Kobe Bryant Game Winner, 2006 Western Conference First Round Game 4 vs. Phoenix

Up 2-1 and at the risk of losing home-court advantage, Kobe hits a running floater to send the game into overtime. However, during overtime, the Suns go up by 1 with the ball to play. As the ball gets in-bounded to Steve Nash, the MVP, Luke Walton grabs it prompting a jump-ball. The Lakers win the jump ball which goes to Kobe, who proceeds to drive down the court and hit a fadeaway jumper near the free throw line at the buzzer to win the game for the Lakers, and take a 3-1 lead in the first round.

Kobe Bryant 3-Pointer For Win, 2009 Western Conference Finals Game 3 vs Denver

Trailing the entire game up until the fourth quarter, and with the series tied 1-1, Kobe Bryant hits a 3-pointer to put the Lakers up by 1 for good. This is perhaps the pivotal point in the series. The Lakers would go on to win the game and the series.

Derek Fisher 3-Pointer For Win, 2009 NBA Finals Game 4 vs. Orlando

Derek Fisher had been 0-5 in Game 4 of the NBA finals. The Magic, up by 3 points passed the ball to Dwight Howard who was subsequently fouled by Kobe. Howard missed both free throws which set up the Lakers to spread the floor and inbounded the ball from their own backcourt. Kobe passed to Ariza, who passed to Fisher, who sank a three-pointer, tying the game and sending it to overtime. Fisher would hit another clutch three-pointer afterwards and the Lakers never looked back as they went on to win their 15th NBA Championship.

Lots of Magic fans and the media in general have been hatin'. They've been saying how the officials are horrible and how they missed the call on the last play of regulation that Pau Gasol's touching of the rim should have been called for a goaltending (and this is sports newscasters as well). I'm here to show you how uneducated and how little research they've done about the NBA rules.

First off let's take a look at the video:

The newcaster claims that you "can't hit the rim like that". Here's why that's bullshit. Let's take whoop out the old NBA rule book on goaltending:

RULE NO. 11-BASKETBALL INTERFERENCE-GOALTENDING

Section I-A Player Shall Not:
a. Touch the ball or the basket ring when the ball is using the basket ring as its lower base.
EXCEPTION: If a player near his own basket has his hand legally in contact with the ball, it is not a violation if his contact with the ball continues after the ball enters the cylinder, or if, in such action, he touches the basket.
b. Touch the ball when it is above the basket ring and within the imaginary cylinder.
c. For goaltending to occur, the ball, in the judgment of the official, must have a chance to score.
d. During a field goal attempt, touch a ball after it has touched any part of the backboard above ring level, whether the ball is considered on its upward or downward flight.
e. During a field goal attempt, touch a ball after it has touched the backboard below the ring level and while the ball is on its upward flight.
f. Trap the ball against the face of the backboard. (To be a trapped ball, three elements must exist simultaneously. The hand, the ball and the backboard must all occur at the same time. A batted ball against the backboard is not a trapped ball.)
g. Touch any live ball from within the playing area that is on its downward flight with an opportunity to touch the basket ring. This is considered to be a "field goal attempt" or trying for a goal.
h. Touch the ball at any time with a hand which is through the basket ring.
i. Vibrate the rim or backboard so as to cause the ball to make an unnatural bounce.

Pau Gasol didn't touch the ball on that play, he merely touched the rim. Therefore the parts of the rule in play are part c and part i. According to part c, in order for it to be goaltending, the official needs to have thought that the ball had a chance of going in, which even Magic fans will agree did not. According to part i, which is the only part that concerns a player touching the rim rather than the ball during a shot, the player must have vibrated the rim or backboard to cause an unnatural bounce.

Clearly this is not the case. In fact Pau Gasol touched the rim before the ball even hit the rim, it didn't cause the rim or backboard to bounce, and it certainly did not cause any extra bounce, natural or unnatural on the ball. The time he touched the rim and the time the ball went to the rim were completely different times. Therefore, it is clearly not a goaltend. The sportscaster in the video is mentally retarded. All fans (whether Magic or not) who think that this was a goaltend are uneducated and mentally retarded.

Now, a play that was a goaltend was Dwight Howard's reach through the net to block Pau. But I won't discuss that.

It would be funny if after the Rockets win their first round series, Tracy McGrady starts telling the media "hey man I can play, I wanna play in the second round, even though I had season-ending surgery I can play man, put me in the lineup now!"

That would be hilarious. I wonder if Adelman would still play him, probably not since the curse was broken.

Poor McGrady when will he get out of the first round?!

Don't get me wrong. I think it was brilliant that Phil played his starters in order to send the Jazz the message "your fate is in our hands, and you are not escaping us". And let's forget for the moment the Jazz's downward spiral during the waning weeks of the season. On paper, the Jazz are a tougher opponent than both the Mavericks or the Hornets, which is why I'm not counting them out yet.

The Lakers' greatest weakness is their own brain. It's all mental. With Sloan's crafty speech about how hopeless his own team is, the Lakers may not take this series seriously, and that scares me. With a potential second-round series coming up with Portland, if the Lakers don't keep their focus on Utah, and Utah alone, then it'll be devastating. Deron Williams is a legit superstar and wants to win, and he wants it bad - he won't allow his team to lose, and if he catches on fire, very few of the Lakers have the speed to stop him. 

That being said, I'm still going with L.A. I'm just saying be careful, boys. The Lakers need to keep their eyes on D-Will and the rest of those hooligans. If they look past the Jazz and see the Blazers, they might not make it there. Complete 100% mental concentration required.