MVN: Most Valuable Network

Wizards Shuffling Chairs on the Deck of the Titanic
By Brandon Gallawa

The Washington Wizards, Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Hornets have agreed to a three-team trade that will bring two point guards to the Wizards and hopefully stem the tide while Gilbert Arenas is out.

The Wizards receive Mike James from the Hornets and Javaris Crittenton from the Grizzlies in exchange the Hornets will receive Antonio Daniels from the Wizards and a conditional second-round pick from the Grizzlies.  The Grizzlies receive a future first-round pick.

The deal makes sense for the Wizards.  They lack depth at point guard with Arenas out, and so far Daniels has not been a suitable fill in for Gilbert.  James has been underutilized in New Orleans playing in only 8 games this season and only averaging 9 minutes per contest.  If he returns back to his form of 3 years ago, he could be a boon for the Wiz.  The Wizards also getting Crittenton is a form wish fulfillment.  The Wizards were high on the Georgia Tech point guard on draft night in 2007.  They had considered taking, but they couldn't pass on Nick Young.  They will share the majority of the minutes at the point until Arenas returns and should be a nice three-man rotation at both guard positions when he comes back.

For the Hornets, they traded away a guy who wasn't playing anyways to put Antonio Daniels back into a role in which he thrives.  He has been a great contributor off the bench for the past few seasons and has languished on bad teams.  Now he should be in the mix on a contending team in the West.  He can be used to spell Chris Paul, so Paul will have fresher legs at the end of the season.  Worst-case scenario: he "contributes" as much as Mike James did or is a back-up plan in case Paul gets hurt.

Meanwhile the Grizzlies are firmly entrenched in Penny Saver mode.  They'd find a way to trade Marc Iavaroni for 2010 coaching prospect.  This franchise (along with the Bobcats, Thunder, and Clippers) should just be dismantled and the other teams in the league should be able to draft their current roster.

Suns trade Diaw, Bell to Bobcats for Richardson, Dudley
By Zach Harper

In search of offense, the Suns decided to add scoring Wednesday evening by trading French baguette Boris Diaw, Sean Singletary, and Raja Bell to the Charlotte Bobcats for Jason Richardson, Jared Dudley and a second round pick. 

This season has seen it's fair share of curious trades that make very little basketball sense for one or both parties involved.  But this trade seems to actually serve a purpose for both teams. The Bobcats desperately need a frontcourt player who isn't Sean May, Alexis Ajinca, or Ryan Hollins.  The Suns needed a shooting guard who could put the ball in the basket with more consistency that didn't require a bell chime to be played over the PA system when doing so.  So it's a win-win situation for both teams, right?  Well, not exactly.

Check out the rest of the trade analysis on this deal here.

How about all of them?
By Zach Harper

Between doing an impromptu podcast interview for MVN and being hopped up on cold medicine, I never sat down and watched an entire game to review. But through some master remote usage, I watched a significant portion of all the games. So here's a brief recap of what happened last night.

Raptors 101, Pacers 88- Thanks to Twitter and stalking J.E. Skeets on Twitter, I found out that Stephen and Joey Graham (twins) used to argue about their favorite color. For a long time, this was the most interesting aspect of this game. Jason Kapono scored 25 points in his start for the injured Anthony Parker.

Knicks 121, Nets 109- Devin Harris scored 14 of the Nets' first 17 points before they started to spread the ball around more. They should have stayed with what was working early. Wilson Chandler, Al Harrington and Tim Thomas combined to score 89 of the Knicks 121 points (yes, you read that correctly) and the Knicks overcame Harris' 32 points and the fact that David Lee only had one rebound.

Hornets 105, Bobcats 89- Peja hit five threes and Chris Paul dished out 15 assists in the old ABA Bucs uniforms as the Hornets won for the seventh time in eight games. The Bobcats managed to suck bad enough to negate D.J. Augustin's 28-point effort and none of the other four Bobs starters managed to score in double figures.

Cavs 101, 76ers 93- That's now ten straight wins for the Cleveland Cavaliers after they turned a two-point halftime lead into a 19-point lead after three quarters. Elton Brand (six points) failed to score in double figures for the third time this season and Samuel Dalembert failed to resemble an NBA player for the seventh time in eight games.

Grizzlies 108, Thunder 102- The Grizzlies almost screwed this up by allowing the Thunder to believe that they can win games. The Thunder dropped their record to 2-21 and are now on pace for seven wins this season. Mike Conley scored 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Grizz to victory.

Spurs 95, Hawks 89- Manu Ginobili scored 27 points off the bench and the Spurs held all but two Hawks players under double figures in scoring. The Spurs nearly doubled the Hawks rebounding with a 52-27 edge and the Hawks attempted just 14 free throws in the entire game.

Nuggets 116, T'Wolves 105- Carmelo Anthony happened. Kevin Love's 14 and 14 effort off the bench wasn't enough and Rashad McCants looks to be more Dermarr Johnson than Jerry Stackhouse.

Warriors 119, Bucks 96- Seven Warriors' players scored in double figures to pick up the poor scoring night from Jamal Crawford (4 points, 2-8 shooting). The Bucks forced just 10 turnovers in the entire game.

Lakers 115, Suns 110- The Suns hung tough with the best team in the West despite missing Shaquille O'Neal (death in the family), Raja Bell (traded), and Boris Diaw (traded). Amare Stoudemire could not guard Pau Gasol at all and the Suns couldn't overcome Steve Nash's poor shooting night.

Portland Trailblazers (15-8) at Utah Jazz (14-9) 7:30pm PST TNT
By Brandon Gallawa

How mad is Ted Turner tonight?  Do you think he is crank calling Gilbert Arenas, calling him a wuss and telling him to "sack up?"  I'm an NBA fanatic, and even I don't want to watch Boston dismantle the Wizards tonight.  The Blazers at Jazz is a fantastic match-up, and NBA fans should be excited for it.  But people on the East coast (not that they care that much) will have to stay up until one in the morning to catch the end.

It was commonly believed that the Blazers would be competitive this season, but they really wouldn't contend until next year.  Apparently they didn't want to wait it out, so they decided to make their run at the Northwest this year.  They are showing that they should be considered legit this season with wins against some of the top teams in the West.  They are coming off a last-second loss to the Magic that wasted phenomenal performances by Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge.  They are 7-3 in their last 10 and 15-3 in games where they hold their opponent to under 100 points (which they've managed quite a bit since Greg Oden's return).  They are also 9-2 when they score over 100 points.

But the Blazers can't claim the throne until they knock off their best division rival.  The Jazz have managed to stay in the hunt despite countless injuries.  They're also 9-3 at worst named basketball arena EnergySolutions Arena and holding opponents to under 95 PPG and inducing 16.4 turnovers per game on their home court.  With Carlos Boozer out due to injury, Paul Millsap has been a difference maker.  He has led the Jazz in scoring and rebounding in four of their last eight games.  Deron Williams is still somewhat of a shell of himself, but he has started to regain his offensive form.  Andrei Kirilenko is back to being the five-category player that he was three years ago.  To use one of our most uttered 2K9 phrase, the Jazz have been playing like crap, and they're still 14-9 and in the hunt.

I really hate using sport's clichés, but it is always fun when a game in December has a playoff feel to it.  This game should have it.

Key Match-Up: Portland Bench versus Utah Bench
Even taking into consideration key injuries, both these teams can make an argument that they have the best bench in the league.  They both have frontrunners for the Sixth Man award.  Rudy Fernandez leads Portland's second unit.  They also have Travis Outlaw, Sergio Rodriguez, Channing Frye and Joel Przybilla.  Any of those guys could legitimately start on any other team in the NBA.  As for the Jazz, the aforementioned Kirilenko can fill up a stat sheet as good as anyone in the league.  He is a defensive presence that can do it all.  Boozer's injury hurts the Jazz depth since Millsap is a stud off the bench, but there are still other players to lean on.  Kyle Korver, C.J. Miles and Ronnie Price all bring major contributions (mostly on offense).  Even Kosta Koufos has had his moments.  Whichever team's bench performs the best should be the winner of this conest.
Prediction: Utah usually finds a way to win at home.  Why bet against it?


How about you get caught up in some Good Knowledge Blog?
By Brandon Gallawa

Let me be point out something that would seem out of character for me: I hated watching the Kings beat the Lakers on Tuesday night.  Don't get me wrong.  I loved seeing John Salmons control the game at both ends of the floor.  I also loved Francisco Garcia playing on nothing but adrenaline in the first half.  I was pleasantly surprised that they could hang with the Lakers without Kevin Martin let alone beat them handedly.  What pissed me off was the fact that Gavin Maloof was screaming and jumping around as if this was a do-over for the 2002 WCF.  After every 3, defensive stop and big dunk, they would cut to Gavin Magoof out of his seat screaming and pumping his fists.  If Gavin is reading this, the Kings never had a rivalry with the Lakers, so I'm wondering how something that never existed still is around in your mind.  Don't get me wrong, no team gave the Lakers more trouble during the Shaq/Kobe era, but they still never beat the Lakers.  It was as much of a rivalry as Bugs Bunny versus Elmer Fudd.  One party constantly getting the better of the other does not a rivalry make.

That frustrated me immensely, and getting wins against top-flight teams (Lakers & Hornets for example) should only serve to frustrate Kings' fans even more.  Where is this effort in winnable games against Memphis or in blowouts against Denver or Utah?  The other issue is that every win means the Kings are that much further away from landing Ricky Rubio.  No offense to some of the players currently on the roster, but Rubio may make being a Kings' fan worth it again.  He would bring back the days of Jason Williams but in a package that is younger and more in control offensively and defensively.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that within 5 years he will be one of the top 3 point guards in the league.  Again no offense to Beno Udrih, but the Kings aren't blowing anyone's doors off with him.  Let's see some more last-second losses to get the Kings in a position for long-term success.

Who do the Grizzlies think they are getting in the way of history?  They need to realize that the likelihood of a team with single-digits in the win column may never happen in my lifetime with how watered-down expansion has made the league.  A game like last night only gives the Thunder hope that they can pull off 10 wins this season, and the first step to success is hope.  They may have even walked into a win.  The next time they play, I want the Grizzlies to steam-roll them into oblivion.  That'll break their spirits.  I must say that no one thought that this historic match-up would be the best game of the night, but you learn to always throw the records out when Memphis and OKC face off.  Of course this was probably the Thunder's best chance at getting a win this month, and they wasted it.  Maybe there still is hope for history this season.

Check out the rest of Brandon Gallawa's Good Knowledge Blog here.



"It definitely wasn't as fun. It wasn't as exciting for the fans. It's not as fun for everybody [on the team]. I'll always remember Phoenix with Mike [D'Antoni]. We went from a winning team that was the most exciting team in the league to a half-winning team that wasn't exciting at all." -- Boris Diaw after being traded away from the Suns

Even though it's coming from a French guy, I think this is a sentiment about the Phoenix Suns that you can trust. Raja Bell has voiced his frustration with the new Suns. So have Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire. At a certain point, you have to play to the strengths of your players and then bring in guys next season to fit what Terry Porter wants to do.

By Zach Harper




Top 3 of the Night
1. Carmelo Anthony
45 pts, 11 rebs, 4 stls
Tied an NBA record for points in a quarter with 33 against the Wolves Wednesday night. But if you take away the third quarter, the Wolves played good defense on him.
2. Al Harrington
39 pts, 13 rebs, 11-21 fg, 15-16 ft
Harrington had 26 points in the second half, including 15 fourth quarter points to help the Knicks overcome an early deficit and win against the Nets. He also had a season high 13 rebounds, which is just the third time he's reached double digits in rebounding this season.
3. Troy Murphy
20 pts, 20 rebs, 6 asts, 4-8 3fg
Troy Murphy had a Hugh Downs game (20-20) and seemed to be the only player that was willing to put up a consistent fight against the struggling Raptors. It was his 11th double-double of the season.

Bottom 3 of the Night
1. Adam Morrison
2 pts, 6 rebs, 1-7 fg
Even if he does look like a girl that I went to grade school with, he still should be more effective than two points and one made basket in 37 minutes on the court. Bring back Jason Richardson!!!
2. Raymond Felton
6 pts, 4 asts, 2-11 fg
You know who needs to step it up in Jason Richardson's absence? That's right; it's Raymond Felton. Felton had another terrible night in what has been a pitiful season for the UNC point guard. He's now had eight games this season in which he made three or fewer baskets with double digit attempts.
3. Steve Nash
7 pts, 9 asts, 2-12 fg, 2-9 3fg, 4 tos
Steve tried to keep an undermanned Suns team competitive against the Lakers. But the Lakers defense was too tough and Nash simply couldn't get his looks to fall.  


Here are the Top Blog Posts from yesterday.

1. From Basketbawful-
Possibly the best gift for a hoops fan
2. From Cuzoogle, Via Ball Don't Lie-
Seven NBA/Christmas Movies, soon to be released
3. From Baller Blogger-
Time to lower player salaries




To check out today's media fun, click this link and scroll down to Section 8. 

Thanks for reading today's Eight-Second Violation.  Send your comments, criticism and words of praise to zharper@talkhoops.net.


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