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Jameer Nelson: The Orlando Magic were hit with a devastating blow when Nelson tore the labrum in his right shoulder, which could cause him to have season ending surgery. Nelson is going to try and deal with the pain in his shoulder over the next several weeks before he decides whether or not to have surgery. My initial reaction to the injury to their All-Star guard was that the Magic would be toast even in the regular season. However, after thinking things over, I think they can manage to hang in there with the big boys out East during the regular season. It's rumored that the Magic are now looking to make a trade to acquire a PG to help out backup Anthony Johnson, but the Magic don't have enough assets to acquire anyone who will make a major impact on the team. Some names that have been thrown out there include: Stephon Marbury, Jamaal Tinsley, Carlos Arroyo, Sergio Rodriguez, Ramon Sessions, Earl Watson, Chucky Atkins, Kyle Lowry, Earl Boykins, & Jannero Pargo.I say, yeah, go ahead and get Tinsley or Earl Watson as insurance, but they should be giving a majority of the minutes to rookie Courtney Lee. I have seen enough of the kid to think that he would thrive with more playing time at this point in the season. In January, with 29 minutes a game he averaged 8.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game, while shooting 45.4% from the field and 42.1% from deep. His defensive rating on the season is actually slightly better than Nelson's, so there would be no drop off on the defensive end. I would then have Hedo Turkoglu share the point guard duties from time to time with Anthony Johnson and whoever else the Magic decide to pick up. I think that would leave Orlando in pretty good shape to compete in the East and then they would just have to hope that Nelson will be healthy for the playoffs. If he's not, then I have a hard time believing they will be able to beat Cleveland and Boston. With Nelson, I feel like Orlando is the second best team in the East after the Celtics. Without him, I'm not so sure and if Nelson doesn't come back I'm gonna be real disappointed that I won't get a chance to see just how good Orlando really is.
Andrew Bynum: The Lakers were also hit hard by injury when Andrew Bynum tore his MCL, which will cost him 8 to 12 weeks. The Lakers should be fine without Bynum during the regular season, because you know they do have that Kobe guy, who just happened to drop 61 points on the Knicks. However, the playoffs are another story. Without Bynum or at least a 100% Bynum, the Lakers will most likely not win the NBA Championship and could possibly lose before the NBA Finals out West. I'd have to say San Antonio still has the best chance to knock off the Lakers out West, because I am not yet a believer in the Houston Rockets and I don't see New Orleans playing at the same level they did last season. Denver might even be a dark horse to beat the Lakers, but again that's probably a very long shot. I still see the Spurs as the # 1 competition for the Lakers, but I would imagine that without a healthy Bynum, the Lakers would at least have a tough time getting past the Celtics in the finals. I think they would have a better chance against Cleveland or Orlando if one of those two teams was the make the NBA Finals out of the East, but could possibly lose to either one of those two teams as well.
New Orleans Hornets: The Hornets dodged a bullet with Chris Paul because his is just day-to-day with a mild groin strain. Losing Paul for an extended period of time would have killed the Hornets season and seen them possibly drop out of the playoffs, since they are only 3 games up on 9th place Utah. I don't like the way the Hornets have played this season and I'm not sure why they have struggled so much. This might be a team that is cruising through the regular season, because they have bought into their own hype. A veteran team like the Spurs can skate through the regular season a little bit from time to time, but I don't think a younger team like the Hornets can get away with it.
Jason Thompson: Kevin Love has received a lot of props this season for his outstanding rebounding, as he should, since he rates #1 in the NBA in offensive rebound %. However, there is another rookie this season that has been quite impressive on the boards as well and that is Kings rookie Jason Thompson. Thompson currently ranks 18th in the NBA in total rebound percentage grabbing 15.7% of all possible rebounds when he is on the floor. He is even better at grabbing offensive rebounds, where he ranks 8th in the NBA grabbing 11.8% of those. That bodes well for the rookie, who should improve and end up having a nice career in the NBA. He's one of the hidden gems of this rookie class and is averaging 10.5 points & 6.9 rebounds on 50.4% shooting this season in just 25.9 minutes a game. Lately, he has been even better, having scored in double figures in 14 straight games. During that stretch, he is averaging 14.7 points and 7.5 rebounds, while shooting 57.3% from the field.
Other NBA News:
- Andrew Bogut will miss 8 weeks with a stress fracture in his back. Milwaukee is improved from last season and currently hold the 8 seed in the East, but I think they might have a hard time holding onto that spot as the season goes on.
- You can officially write off the Detroit Pistons for this season if you haven't done so already. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games and have dropped to the 5th team in the East and I could see them possibly falling behind Miami & Philadelphia into 7th as the season goes on. They are definitely no longer contenders in the East for this season at least.
- Chris Bosh and the Toronto Raptors had to shoot down rumors that Bosh asked to be traded. I wouldn't be surprised if he did ask, since the Raptors are horrible right now and seem like they have given up on the season. They are currently next to last in the East with a 19-31 record. I told you that Jermaine O'Neal trade wouldn't do much for the Raptors.
More: NBA Weekly
Andrew Bynum: The Lakers were also hit hard by injury when Andrew Bynum tore his MCL, which will cost him 8 to 12 weeks. The Lakers should be fine without Bynum during the regular season, because you know they do have that Kobe guy, who just happened to drop 61 points on the Knicks. However, the playoffs are another story. Without Bynum or at least a 100% Bynum, the Lakers will most likely not win the NBA Championship and could possibly lose before the NBA Finals out West. I'd have to say San Antonio still has the best chance to knock off the Lakers out West, because I am not yet a believer in the Houston Rockets and I don't see New Orleans playing at the same level they did last season. Denver might even be a dark horse to beat the Lakers, but again that's probably a very long shot. I still see the Spurs as the # 1 competition for the Lakers, but I would imagine that without a healthy Bynum, the Lakers would at least have a tough time getting past the Celtics in the finals. I think they would have a better chance against Cleveland or Orlando if one of those two teams was the make the NBA Finals out of the East, but could possibly lose to either one of those two teams as well.
New Orleans Hornets: The Hornets dodged a bullet with Chris Paul because his is just day-to-day with a mild groin strain. Losing Paul for an extended period of time would have killed the Hornets season and seen them possibly drop out of the playoffs, since they are only 3 games up on 9th place Utah. I don't like the way the Hornets have played this season and I'm not sure why they have struggled so much. This might be a team that is cruising through the regular season, because they have bought into their own hype. A veteran team like the Spurs can skate through the regular season a little bit from time to time, but I don't think a younger team like the Hornets can get away with it.
Jason Thompson: Kevin Love has received a lot of props this season for his outstanding rebounding, as he should, since he rates #1 in the NBA in offensive rebound %. However, there is another rookie this season that has been quite impressive on the boards as well and that is Kings rookie Jason Thompson. Thompson currently ranks 18th in the NBA in total rebound percentage grabbing 15.7% of all possible rebounds when he is on the floor. He is even better at grabbing offensive rebounds, where he ranks 8th in the NBA grabbing 11.8% of those. That bodes well for the rookie, who should improve and end up having a nice career in the NBA. He's one of the hidden gems of this rookie class and is averaging 10.5 points & 6.9 rebounds on 50.4% shooting this season in just 25.9 minutes a game. Lately, he has been even better, having scored in double figures in 14 straight games. During that stretch, he is averaging 14.7 points and 7.5 rebounds, while shooting 57.3% from the field.
Other NBA News:
- Andrew Bogut will miss 8 weeks with a stress fracture in his back. Milwaukee is improved from last season and currently hold the 8 seed in the East, but I think they might have a hard time holding onto that spot as the season goes on.
- You can officially write off the Detroit Pistons for this season if you haven't done so already. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games and have dropped to the 5th team in the East and I could see them possibly falling behind Miami & Philadelphia into 7th as the season goes on. They are definitely no longer contenders in the East for this season at least.
- Chris Bosh and the Toronto Raptors had to shoot down rumors that Bosh asked to be traded. I wouldn't be surprised if he did ask, since the Raptors are horrible right now and seem like they have given up on the season. They are currently next to last in the East with a 19-31 record. I told you that Jermaine O'Neal trade wouldn't do much for the Raptors.
More: NBA Weekly
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