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Don’t Look Now, but the Southwest Division is the Cream of the NBA Crop
- By Alex McVeigh
- January 12th, 2010
As we head into 2010, the southwest division is coming on strong. This isn't exactly a surprise, as four of the teams are perennial playoff teams, and then there's the Memphis Grizzlies. But the southwest division is shaping up to be a surprise this season, both within itself, and compared to the rest of the NBA. If the fans and the league have any sense, every team in the Southwest will feature an All-Star, except for the Houston Rockets. Chris Paul, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan and Zach Randolph all deserve to play in the All-Star game. Hell, you've got two All-NBA 1st teamers there, with Paul and Dirk. I would put an All-Southwest team against any other All-Division team in the league. The southwest is the only division in which every team is .500...
Richard Jefferson: Sinking the Spurs
- By Alex McVeigh
- December 17th, 2009
When you think about it, Richard Jefferson was brought to the San Antonio Spurs and asked to do the impossible: combat father time. After all, more than a decade of deep playoff runs has taken its toll on Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginobili and even young buck Tony Parker have proven that they are not immune to the injury bug either. So they traded for Richard Jefferson, with an aged Bruce Bowen as the only loss of consequence, and they added a player who is capable of adding everything that Bowen gave them, and more. After all, as long as Richard Jefferson could hit the corner three and defend, that would negate the loss of Bowen. On paper, this put the Spurs right up there with the Lakers as the teams to beat in...
New Orleans Hornets’ Frontcourt Not Picking Up the Slack
- By Alex McVeigh
- November 27th, 2009
In 2008, the New Orleans Hornets looked to be a team on the rise. Chris Paul has spent the playoffs teaching the basketball world that he was the best point guard in the world, David West was emerging into an offensive superstar. Fastforward eighteen months, the Hornets are a team on the brink, their coach fired, their superstar unhappy, and the good times seem to be over before they even really started. So what happened? Well, let's start at the top. Chris Paul is still Chris Paul, so no worries there. In fact, the player who came into the league with a chip on his shoulder has been playing even more out of his mind before he went down with an injury. I would say that they're even okay depth-wise, with rookie Darren...
Southwest Rookie to Watch: DeJuan Blair
- By Alex McVeigh
- November 27th, 2009
The San Antonio Spurs’ current dynasty started with a well-done draft pick in 1997 (Tim Duncan), and has sustained itself by drafting the likes of Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. Even when they don’t hang on to their picks, several of them, such as John Salmons, Leandro Barbosa and Luis Scola have panned out on other teams. While other teams haven’t been as successful (or lucky, depending on your thoughts) in the draft as the Spurs, most of the teams have acquired players this year ranging from solid role players to potential superstars. DeJuan Blair could be an absolute steal for the Spurs, especially since he excels at exactly what they suffered in last year: offensive rebounding. For a team that has a couple of good rebounders on it, only 22% of...
Southwest Newcomer to Watch: Trevor Ariza
- By Alex McVeigh
- November 27th, 2009
Personally, I find the NBA free-agent period to be the most exciting of all the major sports. In football, most players get locked up or released long before their contract expire, and while baseball is fun, usually the teams with the biggest wallets make the biggest splashes. But the NBA is so structured in when and what can happen, that it makes for an interesting offseason. The draft takes place in late June, and then Juy 1, pitches can be made to free agents. For people like Hedo Turkoglu and Jason Kidd, you better believe there were people waiting on their doorstep at 12:01 July 1. Every team in the Southwest division picked up a marquee free agent this season, and it will be interesting to see how they improve their team's...
Southwest Newcomers to Watch: Richard Jefferson
- By Alex McVeigh
- November 27th, 2009
When the San Antonio Spurs were knocked out of the playoffs in five games by the Dallas Mavericks, people were ready to put a toe tag on the Spurs' dynasty. After all, Manu Ginobili spent the latter part of the season on the bench, Tim Duncan's knees were showing their age and then some and it became clear that too much of their offense was dependent on the shooting of people like Michael Finley and Matt Bonner. So what did the Spurs do? Oh, only what they seem to do almost every year, pull a lopsided deal out of nowhere. This year, they traded Kurt Thomas, Bruce Bowen and Fabricio Oberto for Jefferson. Oberto was immediately traded and waived, and Bowen retired, so you see how lopsided the deal was in...
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