So long Cavs

I know hindsight is 20/20 and all, but I bet the Cavs sure wish they had made a play for Shaq at the trade deadline now. I mean, if they had offered Wally/Pavlovic for Shaq... I bet the Suns would have taken it in a heartbeat (Wally is an expiring and Pavlovic only has $2 mil guaranteed next year... that'd save the Suns ~$17 mil next year, not including tax). Hell, even a bigger trade of Wally/Pavlovic/Wallace for Shaq/J-Rich probably would have gotten done as well. I mean, yeah, the Cavs were all scared of messing with their chemistry and defense and all... but Varejao and Big Z's defense weren't much to write home about either. The Cavs defense got shredded by Dwight to the tune of 25.8 pts, 13 rebs, on 65% shooting for the series. For a comparison, Perkins and the Garnett-less Celtics frontline "contained" Dwight to the tune of 16.4 pts, 17 rebs, on 55% shooting. Keep in mind that the rebounding differential is mostly due to the higher volume of shots (attempted and missed) by the Celts. Offensive rebound wise, Dwight averaged 4 per in both series. If this loss ends up tipping James on the decision to leave Cleveland, the CLE front office is gonna be kicking themselves for YEARS to come. What an opportunity wasted... sad, sad, sad.

Another Suns Draft Failure

Though its technically old news, this was new (surprisingly) to me... but apparently Marcin Gortat (aka "The Polish Hammer") was a 2nd round pick of the Suns back in 2005. Good job Phoenix front office and Mike D'Antoni... that's ANOTHER good solid young building block that you gave up for CASH CONSIDERATIONS. I hope that million dollars or two feels good in your pocket books while the Suns sit at home this spring.

I know Marcin's not a star by any means but he's a legit 7 footer and banger who would be great as the 1st big off the bench and a decent starter in a pinch. Basically everything you would WANT Robin Lopez to be (but probably never will). And for those that think I'm overhyping a scrub... in 3 games as a starter this season (when Dwight was out), the Polish Hammer averaged a double-double with 10 pts, 11.7 rebs, and 3 blks, in 33 minutes resulting in a 2-1 record. And when Dwight was suspended for game 6 of the Philly series, Marcin came through with a 11 pt, 15 reb, 4 stl performance in 40 minutes for a closeout playoff win against the 76ers (on the road too!).

Of course, this is not first, nor the biggest blunder of the PHX front office in recent years. No, those mistakes have been well documented. Luol Deng (7th, 2004), Nate Robinson (21st, 2005), Rajon Rondo (21st, 2006), Rudy Fernandez (24th, 2007)... all traded away for cash. Way to mortgage you future guys! Now I know if the Suns HAD kept some of these picks then of course records/draft positions would have been different in subsequent years, so its likely they would not have gotten ALL of these players. And also, in most cases the Suns were probably picking for other teams so its not for certain they would have picked the same players if they were going to keep them. Still though, its a nice example of all the wasted opportunities that the Phoenix Suns COULD have had. Its one thing to screw up once or twice in a draft (Darko anybody?) but to do some in 4 CONSECUTIVE drafts, I mean, come on... that has to be record or something.

Seriously, from now on, they should just send out feelers to let other teams *think* PHX is gonna sell their pick and get an idea of who the other teams are gonna take, then just draft the guys themselves.

UNSTOPPABLE

Here's another quicky... though I'm finding most of the Kobe/LeBron puppet commercials to be a bit underwhelming... this one is hilarious.



Also, we're less than a month away from the NBA draft (6/25). YAY!!!!!

Second also... GO NUGGETS!!!! (wow, never thought I'd be cheering on a Carmelo team, but anybody but Kobe, right?)

Who's the Boss

LOL... quicky, but in case there was ANY doubt who's calling the shots in Cleveland. Prior to game 2 of the CLE/ORL series, Sasha Pavolvic has played all of 4 min. in the last THREE games combined. That includes TWO double digit wins in Atlanta. Then after game 1 of the Orlando series, Lebron James publicly lobbies for more minutes for Sasha.

"I think Sasha can be huge for us," James said. "Mentally, if Sasha's in tune, he could be really good for us with his 6-7 or 6-8, 240-pound frame, he could really help us on the defensive end, and he's also an offensive threat. You just cannot leave him open on the offensive end because he can make shots. Mentally, if Sasha's in tune, which I think he can be, and if he's called upon, I think he can be really good for us. We need that type of active body on the defensive end who can take a little bit of the load of myself and Delonte. ... We could use him out there."

So what happens in game 2? Sasha is the first guy off the bench. In fact, as of this post (7 minutes left in the 2nd qtr) Sasha has already logged 8+ minutes and more than DOUBLE that of his last 3 games COMBINED. Maybe they should take back Mike Brown's COY award and give it to James instead ;-)

FWIW... as of this post, James was right. Sasha has played well (3/3 from the field, 7 pts total) and a +18 for the game with the Cavs enjoying an early 23 pt. lead (43-20).