Why has my Google AdSense account been canceled?

???????????????????????

Let's Analyze the Trade Deadline Deals

OK, it's been a really, really long time since I've posted anything here.

A lot of things have happened since I've posted last. Orlando traded away Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter, and Marcin Gortat and got back Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu, and Gilbert Arenas. The Heat figured out their chemistry issues and have become a good team (how good is still up for debate). The league took over the Hornets. Javale McGee dunked on two baskets in the same dunk, and then followed that up with a three ball dunk and still lost the dunk contest to Blake Griffin. The Utah Jazz completely lost their identity when Jerry Sloan retired within days of accepting a contract extension. I may even write about that one of these days.

Of course some things haven't changed at all. The players and owners are no closer to reaching an agreement for when the current collective bargaining agreement expires this summer.

There's a lot of things that I could write about, but today I'm going to focus on the trade deadline deals.

Details of all trades below are from nba.com

New York acquired forward Carmelo Anthony, guard Chauncey Billups, guard Anthony Carter, forward Renaldo Balkman and forward Shelden Williams from Denver for forward Wilson Chandler, forward Danilo Gallinari, guard Raymond Felton, center Timofey Mozgov, a 2014 first-round draft pick and a 2012 and a 2013 second-round pick and cash. Traded center Eddy Curry and forward Anthony Randolph to Minnesota for forward Corey Brewer.

This is obviously the big one. To tell you the truth, I like this trade better for Denver than I do for New York. Since the trade, the Nuggets have played pretty well. With Billups gone, Ty Lawson has shown that he can run the show. Don't forget that they still have plenty of depth at the point guard position with Felton coming off the bench. The Nuggets were probably going to lose Anthony one way or the other, so while Chandler/Gallinari obviously doesn't completely replace him, it's really not a bad haul. The Nuggets may no longer have a star, but they're deeper than ever. The Nuggets had a chance to get out of the first round in the West before the trade, and while I think it's not as likely now, it still wouldn't surprise me to see them beat a young team like OKC.

OK, New Yorkers, I know, you're excited. The Knicks have gone from a completely craptastic team to a playoff bound team with two all-stars. That's great, but don't get too excited. You're still not going to finish this season with anything better than the fifth seed in the East, and you're only chance of making it out of the first round is if you play Atlanta. For that to happen, both the Knicks and Atlanta would have to play near perfect basketball for the remainder of the season, and Orlando would have to completely collapse. It's not going to happen. In reality, the Knicks will most likely be the sixth or seventh seed (Philly is right on your tails New York), and you're going to play the Heat, the Magic, or the Bulls. My prediction is that the Knicks would lose the series 4-2 to any of those three teams. Amare and Carmelo aren't bringing a ring to the Knicks any time soon.

Denver acquired center Kosta Koufos from Minnesota.

You didn't really think I'd have anything to say about Kosta Koufos, did you?

Chicago traded forward James Johnson to Toronto for the 2011 first-round draft pick Toronto acquired from Miami.

Chicago opens up a roster spot and gets a late 1st round pick in return. Yes, it's a boring transaction. But it gave Chicago the space to sign Rasual Butler, which of course is also a boring transaction. But if it's game 7 of the NBA Finals, the Bulls are down by three with only a couple of seconds left on the clock, and there's a Bulls player spotted up behind the three point line, would you rather that player be James Johnson or Rasual Butler? I'll take Butler any day. Of course the Bulls should really be getting the ball to Korver in that situation, but I think you get my drift.

Houston traded guard Aaron Brooks to Phoenix for guard Goran Dragic and a future first-round draft pick. Traded forward Shane Battier and guard Ishmael Smith to Memphis for center Hasheem Thabeet, forward DeMarre Carroll and a future first-round draft pick .

I think the Brooks-Dragic swap looks better for Phoenix than it does for Houston, but I guess you never know who that first round pick will be. I think it looks like Phoenix is starting to prepare for the day when Nash finally retires. Of course right now it looks like Nash could play well into his 40s, so who knows.

I also don't understand why Houston would trade away Battier for Thabeet. You can say he's still young, but I say Thabeet is a bust. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think Battier would have re-signed with Houston if given the opportunity.

I don't claim to understand what Houston was thinking about when they made either of these trades.

Utah traded guard Deron Williams to New Jersey for guard Devin Harris, forward Derrick Favors, a 2011 first-round pick, a 2012 first-round pick (via Golden State) and cash considerations.

I'm not upset at Utah for trading Williams. I'm upset at them because they could have traded him before the Deron Williams-Jerry Sloan dynamic got so bad that Sloan walked out the door. Devin Harris is no Deron Williams, but he's certainly a capable point guard. Sloan could have made this work. Now that they're without the only coach they've known for over two decades, the Jazz are bound to become a perennial lottery team. I was a huge Jazz fan back in the Stockton and Malone days, and Jerry Sloan was the only thing left that made me care about this team. I guess that makes me a 100% Dallas Mavericks fan now.

Basketball-wise, I guess the real question is this: Will Deron Williams be a Net next year? I have no idea, but to tell you the truth I don't really care.

New Orleans traded guard Carl Landry to Sacramento for guard Marcus Thornton and cash considerations.

Landry always seems to do quite well with limited minutes, which is what he'll get if West and Okafor are both healthy. Good, but not great deal for the Hornets. Sacramento is so terrible that it doesn't really matter for them. They're probably not even going to be in Sacramento in a few years.

Sacramento acquired guard-forward Marquis Daniels and cash considerations from Boston for a future draft pick.

Daniels had a spinal injury and is done for the season anyway, and this gives the Celtics an extra roster spot. Why would Sacramento want Daniels right now? I have no idea, but it's not like giving up a 2017 second round draft pick is that big of a deal.

Cleveland traded guard Mo Williams and forward Jamario Moon to the L.A. Clippers for guard Baron Davis and a 2011 first-round draft pick. Waived forward Leon Powe.

Baron Davis to the Cavs? How long will it be before Davis fakes a season ending injury so he won't have to play for Cleveland? It sounds like this trade is all about that draft pick. Cleveland has to rebuild, and at this point the draft is the only way that will happen. If I was Cleveland I'd much rather have 3 years of Williams than three years of Davis though. I'm not sure that draft pick will be worth it.

Charlotte traded forward Gerald Wallace to Portland for center Joel Przybilla, forward Dante Cunningham, forward-center Sean Marks and a conditional 2011 and a conditional 2013 first-round draft pick. Waived guard Sherron Collins and forward Dominic McGuire.

Just when it looked like Michael Jordan might be figuring out how to run a basketball team, he trades away the fan favorite Gerald Wallace for Pryzbilla. I like Pryzbilla, I really do. But he hasn't even fully healed from knee surgery yet, and he's not going to make up for losing Wallace. Jordan may be the greatest player of all time, but he's one the worst front office guys.

Boston traded forward Luke Harangody and center Semih Erden to Cleveland for a 2013 second-round draft pick. Traded center Kendrick Perkins and guard Nate Robinson to Oklahoma City for forward Jeff Green, center Nenad Krstic, a 2012 first-round draft pick and cash.

Now that they managed to sign Troy Murphy, this trade doesn't look quite so bad, but I still don't like it. When healthy Perkins is one of the best defensive centers in the league. With no Perkins you have to rely a lot more on Shaq. Krstic and Murphy are both good big men, but neither one is exactly known for his defense. The only way this trade makes sense is if Boston knows something about Perkins' knees that we don't. Jeff Green is a good pick-up, and now that Glen Davis will be sitting out for a while, he'll even get quite a bit of playing time, as he can play both forward positions. However I do think this trade could hurt his career long term, as he's just not going to get the same playing time in Boston that he got in OKC.

I actually really like this trade for OKC as long as Perkins is healthy come playoff time. Durant, Ibaka, and Perkins? Now that's a scary front line.

Washington traded Kirk Hinrich and Hilton Armstrong to Washington for Mike Bibby, Jordan Crawford, Maurice Evans, and a first round draft pick.

Atlanta views Hinrich as an upgrade over Bibby, mostly for defensive purposes. But the real impact of this trade is that Washington and Bibby agreed to a buyout, and now Bibby is in Miami. Bibby isn't the player he used to be, but the point guard position was certainly one of Miami's weaknesses, and now they have a proven veteran point guard on their roster.

Those are my thoughts on the trade deadline deals. I'll try not to wait so long between posts next time.

USA wins the World Championship, and I Missed It

I didn't think they had a chance. They had no big men. Their starting center was a small forward. They had no experience with international competition. But I forgot one thing. They have Kevin Durant.

The thing is, I missed all of it. I was driving back from a mandatory family event at the horse races in Chicago. I hate horse racing. I hate it almost as much as I hate baseball. Now I can hate it even more, as it made me miss the highest quality basketball game we'll get to see in months, maybe even a couple of years. Heck, it was probably a better game than anything we'll see in the NBA Finals this season.

Join My Fantasy Basketball League!

I just set up a head to head, points based league over at espn.com. It's a 10 team league, the draft will probably happen in mid to late October, and it will probably be on a weeknight around 7 pm central time. The roster will be fairly simple. You will start 4 guards, 4 forwards, and 2 centers. There will be 5 bench spots, but no injured reserve. The scoring system is as follows:

Points = 1 point
Rebounds = 2 points
Assists = 2 points
Blocks = 4 points
Steals = 4 points
Threes = 1 point (in addition to the three points you would get for the "Points" category)

The league home page is below. If you like the settings, leave a comment with an email address and I'll send you an invitation.

League Home Page

USA vs. Brazil Game Diary

1:30: Brazil is starting Tiago Splitter, and will bring Varejao off of the bench. Lamar Odom doesn’t sound like a good starting center for Team USA to me. USA needs to play a lot of Kevin Love at center, maybe a little Chandler. Let’s see how badly Splitter dominates USA’s “big men”.

1:33: Violation on the tip off, followed by a re-jump, Splitter gets it easily.

1:34: Brazil scores first, no defense.

1:35: Brazil scores again, still no USA defense.

1:36: Both teams are playing at a fast pace, but the pace is too fast for both teams. The game is very sloppy.

1:37: Durant hit an open three.

1:39: Tie game, 10-10, a little over 6 minutes left in the 1st.

1:40: Brazil hits a three. They haven’t missed a shot. As I typed that, Barbosa missed.

1:41: Another three from Durant. It looks like Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook will be coming in the game soon. It looks like a pretty even game with the starters. Let’s see how things go when both teams start using their bench.

1:43: Huge block from Rudy Gay. That might have been a goaltend in the NBA, but it was clearly a block under FIBA rules. USA 18, Brazil 17.

1:46: Alex Garcia hits a three, Brazil is up by 1. Brazil’s lead didn’t last long, Kevin Love just hit a three. Now Barbosa hits a three. This thing is starting to look more like a fast paced three point contest than a real game. Not much defense from either team.

1:48: Huge dunk from Splitter. Brazil is up 28-22. Splitter gets a block at the other end. End of the first quarter. The frantic pace of the game is making both teams look a little haphazard, but it seems like the chaos is clearly in favor of Brazil. If Brazil keeps hitting three point shots, I don’t think team USA can win this.

1:51: Beginning of the second quarter. 3 second violation by Odom.

1:52: Team USA finally scores again, but it was on a really ugly fade away shot by Durant.

1:54: Timeout. A US Army commercial, Peyton Manning pushing his latest shoe, and a Verizon Wireless commercial. We’re also reminded about a baseball game that will be on ESPN tonight. I hate baseball. I had to add that, in case you haven’t read my earlier posts, or maybe you just forgot.

1:58: Rose gets a steal, fouled on the layup attempt by Barbosa. Rose hits one of two, Brazil is up 33-30. The commentators remind us about how different the ball is from the one used in the NBA.

2:00: USA turnover leads to another easy basket for Brazil. Team USA can’t play defense, and they’re not protecting the ball on offense.

2:01: Time out. There’s something about the way Fran Fraschilla calls a game that detracts from it. I’m really glad ESPN doesn’t put him on NBA games.

2:05: Durant is playing pretty well. He has 14. But team USA isn’t really playing very well, but a reverse up and under layup from Rose brought team USA to within 1.

2:06: Brazil banks in a three, Brazil 43, USA 38.

2:07: Kevin Love checks back in. Rudy Gay mauls Splitter under the basket to stop an easy bucket. Varejao hasn’t played at all in the first half. The commentators speculate that his ankle injury is worse than originally thought.

2:10: Beautiful pick and roll basketball leads to a pretty impressive dunk by Splitter. Love gets an offensive rebound on the other end, but misses the putback.

2:12: Brazil lead 46-43 at the half. Even though Brazil is only up by three, USA really looks to be in trouble. Brazil is clearly setting the pace of this game. They’ve hit a lot of threes, and they’re playing a lot of pick and roll basketball which team USA can’t seem to defend. As I’ve already mentioned, Varejao hasn’t even played due to a hurt ankle. If Varejao was healthy, I don’t think team USA would have a chance in this one. As it is, Coach K is going to have to do something to motivate these guys if they want to win. Durant has 19.

Half time show update: Australia destroyed Germany. Argentina is beating Angola at half time, but they’re not dominating. Serbia is without Nenad Krstic (suspended for three games due to fighting), but they still blew out Jordan 112-69. Apparently they’re going to talk about Roger Clemens after the commercial break. Yawn.

2:26: We’re coming back from half time.

2:28: Odom hits a shot, and brings USA to within 1. ESPN is having technical difficulties, so we can’t see the clock unless the camera angle shows the clock above the backboard.

2:30: Splitter just picked up his third foul. Team USA needed that. A lot.

2:31: Billups hits a pair of free throws, and USA is back to within 1 with about 7:30 left in the 3rd quarter.

2:32: Rudy Gay just spun around on his pivot foot about five times. I wonder if he got dizzy. Tyson Chandler just checked in for the first time.

2:33: Barbosa just airballed a fallaway three. Durant just hit a three to tie things up at 50.

2:34: Rose just hit a jump hook over Splitter (yeah, you read that right, a point guard just took a jump hook over one of the best international centers in the game) to put the US up 52-50.

2:36: One of the commentators just made a dumb crack saying “There’s no such thing as a 10 point play.” All he really wanted to say was that USA has to play defense if it wants to build a lead.

2:37: Barbosa clanks another three. After hitting everything from downtown early, Brazil has gone cold from the three point line. At this point USA’s lead is due more to Brazil’s cold shooting than anything else.

2:40: Billups free throw shooting saves the day again. USA is up 55-50. Surprisingly enough, Chandler is playing OK defense against Splitter.

2:41: Brazil finally knocks down a three.

2:42: Durant just got called for a travel. I didn’t see a travel, but whatever. Durant makes up for it on the next play with a dunk.

2:43: Barbosa has gone completely cold. He just missed an open three. USA 59, Brazil 55 with under 2 minutes left in the third.

2:44: Durant again. Splitter picks up an offensive foul by lowering a shoulder into Odom. This is USA’s chance to really break things open. Remember, that you only have five fouls in FIBA play.

2:46: Brazil isn’t moving the ball very well, but Barbosa just bailed them out with a deep three with the shot clock winding down.

2:49: USA 61, Brazil 59 at the end of the 3rd. Team USA hasn’t taken advantage of Splitter being out of the game yet.

2:53: The game is being delayed due to a scoreboard malfunction. The commentators brought up a potential conspiracy theory that Spain intentionally threw their game against France in order to avoid playing USA until later in tournament play. They’re now showing us the differences between NBA and FIBA basketball, such as the length of the game, size of the court, and goaltending rules. They also mentioned that FIBA will be getting rid of their characteristic trapezoidal lane starting Oct. 1.

2:56: The scoreboard is still malfunctioning.

2:58: The fourth quarter is finally getting started.

2:59: Billups just took a straight ahead three early in the shot clock. It bounced off the back of the rim.

3:01: Brazil hits a three, tie game at 62.

3:03: We’re going to a commercial break with USA up 66-62 after an incredible layup by Rose. He got fouled and will be heading to the free throw line when we come back. ESPN breaks in again to remind us about baseball. Ugh.

3:05: Rose misses the freebie. Splitter is back in the game. ESPN’s clock still isn’t working. It’s really annoying when you don’t know how much time is left.

3:06: Durant just got blocked. The score is still 66-62. Time out. I think I’ve seen enough Army recruitment commercials to last me a life time. It doesn’t matter how many times you show that stupid commercial. I’m not enlisting. Give up already.

3:09: Team USA’s offense looks really stagnant. Odom drove to the basket, but stepped out of bounds. USA is up 66-64.

3:12: Offensive foul on a Billups drive. Brazil has three players with four fouls.

3:13: Durant just got called for another travel. Once again, I didn’t see any travel. If you think that NBA officiating can be bad, watch some international ball.

3:14: Brazil is shooting 2 for 15 in the fourth. Brazil’s cold shooting is the only reason that USA is up 4 right now. Durant just got called for basket interference. Even though you can hit the ball after it’s hit the rim in international play, you can’t put your hand through the basket like Durant just did. That mistake just let Brazil pull within two with 1:04 left in the game.

3:17: Billups drove right into Splitter and hit the shot, but Barbosa hit on the other end. USA is still up by 2.

3:18: Huertas just got fouled, and is heading to the free throw line with 3.5 seconds left. If he hits both, we’re probably heading to overtime. He missed the first shot. He missed the second intentionally, Brazil got the rebound, but Barbosa missed the shot. USA wins, 70-68.

Somehow the USA pulled off the win today, but it certainly wasn’t pretty. Their defense was horrible in the first half, and just OK in the second half. In my opinion USA didn’t win this game. Brazil lost it. They missed a lot of open shots in the second half.

Assorted Thoughts

There are several things I could write about, but I don't feel like turning any of them into full length posts right now. Here are some of my thoughts on the world championships, the upcoming NBA season, and video games.

I watched the USA vs. France exhibition game on Sunday. Team USA won, and they did it fairly easily, but it wasn't pretty. If Team USA expects to make a noise against the real heavy hitters like Spain and Greece, they have to play A LOT better. France was without Tony Parker, Roddy Beaubois, Mickael Pietrus, and Joakim Noah. The USA should have pulverized France. Yet they didn't. They have no big men, most of the team is very inexperienced, and unless some drastic changes are made, Spain is going to stomp a mudhole in their a**es and walk it dry.

The season hasn't even started yet, and reports are already stating that Chris Paul wants out of New Orleans, and Carmelo Anthony wants out of Denver. Chris Paul isn't going anywhere, whether he likes it or not. He won't be a free agent next summer, so New Orleans can hold onto him even if he throws a fit. They can deal him next year. Carmelo is an idiot for not immediately signing the extension that the Nuggets offered him. No one knows what the new collective bargaining agreement will look like, but it's probably not going to be as player friendly as the one they're under now. Take the money Melo!

I recently dusted off my copy of NBA 2K7 for my PS2. I'm playing in association mode, which basically lets you be the GM of a team, as well as play all of the games. Of course I had to create myself as a 7'2" 280 lb. center with a 99 rating. Making enough trades to get the Mavs below the salary cap so I could sign myself took a long time. But I pulled it off.

Well there's my excuse for a blog post. Maybe I'll have more coherent thoughts next time.

Worst Month in Sports: The NBA-Centric Version

ESPN.com recently published an article declaring August to be the worst month in sports. Before reading any more of my post, go read the ESPN article in the link below, but don't forget to come back.

ESPN - Worst Month For Sports

I can't disagree with their choice of August as the worst month in sports. In fact, I'd say they are dead on. But from a die-hard NBA fan who hates baseball and doesn't really care about football, the rest of the list needs a lot of work. So here's my take on the topic from an NBA-centric viewpoint.


1. August: The ESPN article nailed it. Let's be honest, the only thing going on sports wise in August is baseball, and I hate baseball. Let's move on.

2. September: The article says December belongs here, but they're dead wrong. The second worst month is September, and it's only marginally better than August. At least we're closing in on the NBA season, and speculation is picking up on who the contenders will be, which means that the professional sports writers and amateur hacks like me are starting to produce more NBA related content. NBA training camp for some teams also begins in late September, and this can add a little bit of excitement for the basketball starved fan.

3. October: You might think I'd agree with ESPN's choice of July, since it's the last month that never contains any NBA regular season or playoff games. But then you'd be wrong. While October often contains the start of the NBA season, it's only the last three or four days of the month at best. Some years the regular season doesn't even start until early November. Pre-season basketball just isn't that exciting, although the outdoor game that they've televised the last couple of years has been worth watching, especially when you haven't seen a real NBA game since June. Plus October loses points for mucking up the airwaves with the World Series. Did I mention that I hate baseball?

4. July: July beats out October because of NBA free agency. While we were submitted to "The Decision" this year, July is when we find out what the NBA landscape is going to look like for the first few months of the season. The next big roster shakeups don't usually happen until right before the trade deadline (see February).

5. March: Bad teams are tanking to improve their chances in the draft lottery and teams who have solidified their playoff positions are resting their stars. This makes for some boring TV games, and it will kill you if your fantasy basketball season goes deep into March. On the plus side you get to see what happens when Brian Scalabrine tries out his iso moves on the rookie from Wheretheheckisthatastan. As much as it makes sense for me to pay attention to NCAA basketball to see who the up and coming players are, I just can't get that into college hoops. March Madness does not make up for low quality NBA games.

6. November: The NBA season is in full swing and there's no more baseball. EJ, Kenny, and Charles are on Thursday nights on TNT for the next few months. That's some good TV right there.

7. December: NBA rosters have had time to gel. We're starting to see which teams have chemistry and which don't. By this point in the season we're starting to see who the surprise pseudo-contenders are (usually young talented teams we didn't think were ready yet) and which teams aren't as good as we thought (usually due to injuries and/or washed up former all stars). The big negatives to December are the early no name college football bowl games which are played on Friday nights, because ESPN will air them instead of their usual Friday night double-header.

8. January: January is pretty similar to December, and also tends to suffer from the Friday night bowl game issue. I'll give January a slight edge over December because the NBA games generally seem to be a little bit higher in quality.

9. April: The NBA playoffs get under way. The first round has eight seven game series going on at the same time. That's a lot of basketball to watch, so I'm usually pretty happy. But it is only the first round, which is how a non-playoff month squeaks in at a better position.

10: February: February is all about All-Star Weekend and the NBA trade deadline. I love NBA All-Star Weekend. For whatever reason, I know it leaves a lot of fans somewhat cold, but I just can't help but love it. The dunk contest isn't as good as it used to be, but it's still entertaining. The skills competition is great, and I also like the three point contest. The game play of the Rookie-Sophomore game is usually pretty sloppy, but I like it because it lets us get a good look at the young players who will be the future of the league. I probably like this game more than some because I don't watch college basketball on any kind of regularity, so I'm not very familiar yet with some of these guys. Then there's the All-Star game itself. Yes, the play is often sloppy, but every once in a while a few players on each team decide that winning is important, that attitude becomes contagious, and the yearly East vs. West game becomes a thing of beauty. Then there's the trade deadline. This is the last chance for contender's to add an extra piece for that playoff run, and for the also rans to shed a little salary. Now we basically know what the rosters will look like for the playoffs.

I guess there's also some little football game that happens during February. I hear the commercials are good.

11: June: You probably thought I'd leave June for last because of the NBA Finals. Well you'd be wrong. I love the NBA Finals. I really do. But the problem is that there are only two teams left. One of those teams is probably the Lakers. I hate it when the Lakers win. The Lakers winning really takes something out of the Finals for me. Of course when the Lakers make the Finals and lose (2004 - Pistons, 2008 - Celtics), it's one of the best feelings in sports. There's also a bit of a let down when the season is finally over that keeps me from calling June the best.

12: May: I think that May is a better sports month than June. May has the later rounds of the NBA playoffs, so there are a lot of high quality games going on. For some reason, it often seems like the best games of the year happen during the Eastern or Western Conference Finals and not during the NBA Finals. During May I often still have that hope that someone out West will beat the Lakers, and that we'll have a great non-Lakers Finals, and that I'll really be able to enjoy the Finals when June rolls around.

So there's my stance on how the year shakes out sports wise from an NBA-centric point of view. I agree with the ESPN article that August is the worst, but other than that I don't agree with them at all.

Too bad it's August.