How Long Can The Houston Rockets Stay Alive Without Yao Ming?

Despite Yao Ming out for the remainder of the season, the Houston Rockets continue to dominate as their win streak has now reached 13 games in a row. With the Rockets playing Memphis tonight, make that 14 in a row (unless the Rockets sleep on them, but the West is so tight why would any team sleep on another team at this point?) The Rockets will make the playoffs, but the question is how long will they last? Will they get out of the first round finally?

The team rests solely on the shoulders of Tracy McGrady. Like Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, and Lebron James, Tracy is an all-star who needs a supporting cast, or at least a right hand man. I consider Rafer Alston and Shane Battier to be decent players, but if you look at every other team in the West who currently has a spot in the playoffs, those teams all have more than one all star or a batch of very good players. For example, if the season ended today, the Rockets would have to contend with the San Antonio Spurs (not a contest). They most likely will not pass the Dallas Mavericks in the West and they won't fall behind the Golden State Warriors. They will finish in 7th place in their Conference and get knocked out yet again in the first round. They simply don't have the same firepower as the other teams.

The Sacramento Kings Trade Away Mike Bibby For Four Players

I don't understand this one. Mike Bibby is good, but is he worth FOUR players? You normally associate trading four players for someone like Kobe Bryant or Lebron James, but not for Mike Bibby. The Atlanta Falcons obviously aren't thinking straight, or are they?

The Atlanta Hawks are trying to balance out their backcourt and make a playoff push by bringing in Mike Bibby.

Hawks coach Mike Woodson said Bibby, acquired from the Sacramento Kings for four players on Saturday, will provide scoring help for Joe Johnson. Atlanta's All-Star shooting guard often faces gimmick defenses because he's the team's only outside shooting threat.

Bibby has averaged 16.7 points for his career and is making more than 36 percent of his 3-point shots for the ninth straight year.

The Hawks sent starting point guard Anthony Johnson, 2007 first-round pick Shelden Williams, backup point guard Tyronn Lue, veteran forward Lorenzen Wright and a 2008 second-round pick to the Kings.

The Hawks, in ninth place in the Eastern Conference and percentage points behind the eighth and final playoff spot, are trying to make the postseason for the first time since 1999.

Woodson and Michael Gearon Jr., one of the team's owners, were pleased the team did not have to touch its core of promising young players to acquire Bibby.

Actually, the Hawks aren't looking that bad now. Al Horford and Zaza [Pachulia] are good. I've always liked Joe Johnson (especially when he was on the Suns) and now throw in Mike Bibby, who can hit three pointers as good as any player into the mix.

....I hope they have fun playing the Boston Celtics or Detroit Pistons in the first round.

Now Lebron James Wants A Blockbuster Trade For The Cavs?

Like nearly everyone else, Cleveland's Lebron James was shocked by Shaquille O'Neal's trade to Phoenix.

"Unbelievable," James said after practice Wednesday. "That's all I got. It's unbelievable."

O'Neal, one of the league's top centers for more than a decade, was traded by Miami to the Suns for forward Shawn Marion and guard Marcus Banks, a blockbuster deal that rocked the league like one of Shaq's backboard-bending dunks.

It was the second jaw-dropping swap involving All-Star players in days. Last week, the Los Angeles Lakers acquired 7-foot center Pau Gasol from Memphis, a trade that may have forced the Suns into retooling their team in order to stay ahead of their nearest competitor in the Pacific Division.

With the Lakers and Heat acquiring superstars, Lebron James is starting to wonder when the Cavs will acquire a superstar (with no disrespect to Lebron's teamates) of their own.

James recently said he would love for general manager Danny Ferry to make a run at New Jersey point guard Jason Kidd, who has made it no secret that he wants the Nets to dish him off before the Feb. 21 trading deadline.

When James was asked if being paired with Kidd, his teammate last summer on the U.S. national team, could win the Cavs their first championship, Cleveland's superstar delivered an answer as resounding as any of his powerful slam dunks.

The Cavs are going to have to compete with the Dallas Mavericks, who are also interested in acquiring Jason Kidd.

The Cavaliers would like to add another star player to complement James, who's having an MVP-caliber season. Larry Hughes hasn't been what Cleveland had hoped since Ferry signed the oft-injured shooting guard to a five-year, $60 million contract before the '05 season.

James was asked if it's necessary for a team to have multiple stars to win an NBA title.

"It helps," he said with a laugh. "It does help when you have guys on the team that are perennial All-Stars or can go out there and produce every night and you know what you're going to get."

Reminded that Kidd was still available, James grinned.

"I know that," he said.

James, too, knows that adding another big player can lead to problems.

"It can mess up the chemistry a little bit and it could take a little longer for them to fit in, maybe not," he said. "The reward is you get a good player. Like the Lakers, they got a guy [Gasol] who has averaged 20 [points] and 12 [rebounds] for his whole career. Last night, Kobe Bryant gets six points and the Lakers win by 15, that's the reward.

"It all depends on what caliber of player you are getting and how fast he can adjust to the new system."

If the Cavaliers stand pat and don't make a trade, James is confident the defending Eastern Conference champs are still good enough to win it all.

"As long as I'm healthy, we're going to give ourselves a chance to win," he said. "No matter who is out on the court with me."

From James' comments, you wouldn't be able to tell if he wants another superstar on his team or not. However, it is clear that James is happy and confident with the way things are now.

Jason Kidd Is Close To Nesting In His Old Home Of Dallas

The growing feeling among league executives that the Dallas Mavericks are the most likely winners in the Jason Kidd trade sweepstakes is even stronger now.

Reason being: Within 24 hours of Kidd saying that it's time for him and the New Jersey Nets "all to move on" in separate directions, New Jersey and Dallas engaged in advanced trade discussions with Portland on a three-way deal that would land Kidd back with the team that drafted him in 1994.

Kidd

Such a trade would involve at least a dozen players, cash sweeteners and future draft picks. In a breakdown of the most noteworthy principles, Portland would land Mavericks guard Devin Harris and possibly Mavs forward Brandon Bass, New Jersey would receive draft and financial considerations, Dallas' Jerry Stackhouse and a trio of young prospects from Portland (Travis Outlaw, Channing Frye and Jarrett Jack) while the Mavericks would score Kidd.

The talks were very active Tuesday, as reported Tuesday night on ESPN2's "NBA Coast to Coast" by ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard. But dialogue between the three clubs had cooled Wednesday to the point that sources close to the situation described them as "pretty much dead."

But another source insisted that the deal still has life and noted that the "pretty much" disclaimer leaves open the possibility that the dialogue can be reheated to Tuesday's levels, especially since the league's Feb. 21 trading deadline is still three weeks away. And what most observers considered to be one of the biggest obstacles for New Jersey and Dallas to either moving or acquiring Kidd -- finding the third team they needed to broaden the deal -- might be less of an impediment than anticipated if Portland could be recruited so quickly.

Some reluctance from the Blazers, sources said, is one of the factors that has stalled the talks. In addition to the short-term concerns about the ankle injury that has sidelined Harris, Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard told The Oregonian newspaper last week that "we're not making any trades" to break up a roster of youngsters that rebounded from Greg Oden's season-ending injury to rank as the biggest surprise team so far in a league filled with surprise teams. Sources say Portland has been shopping Jack on his own, but parting with three or four players is something else, with guard Sergio Rodriguez also potentially involved. Outlaw's development, furthermore, is one of the stories of the Blazers' season.

The Mavericks, meanwhile, might also have some hesitation, even knowing that Kidd has made it clear behind the scenes that a return to Dallas and the opportunity to play alongside Dirk Nowitzki is his preferred outcome, ahead of a move to Cleveland to play with Team USA teammate and close friend LeBron James.

Sources say Dallas is resigned to the fact that it won't be able to reacquire Kidd -- 1994-95's co-Rookie of the Year with Grant Hill as a Mav but who left town in acrimonious circumstances less than two seasons later -- without parting with Harris, who's a fan and Mark Cuban favorite as well as a 24-year-old point guard having by far his best season.

The initial scenarios discussed by the teams, however, also would require Dallas to part with either Bass or center DeSagana Diop. Both are critical role players in the Mavericks' system. Bass ranks as the most effective backup Nowitzki has ever had and Diop operates as one half of the center tandem with Erick Dampier that has been successful against San Antonio and Tim Duncan.

The Mavs, if the deal goes through, would be undertaking the aggressive renovation that many critics have been calling for since they followed up a 67-win regular season with a first-round exit to Golden State last season. Although there would obviously be some risk giving Harris' job to a quarterback who will be 35 in March, Dallas is undoubtedly seduced by the idea of enhancing the scoring abilities of Nowitzki and Josh Howard. Kidd's arrival would likewise address Dallas' team IQ and mental toughness issues after back-to-back epic collapses in the playoffs, first to Miami in the 2006 NBA Finals and then to Golden State.

Yet another potential snag here is that the Nets naturally hope to come out of a Kidd deal with at least one young star. The closest thing to a young star in the scenarios discussed so far -- Harris -- would be going to Portland.

But Outlaw is on the rise, too. Outlaw and Frye, furthermore, are athletic prospects who come with salary cap-friendly contracts in addition to the two future first-round draft picks New Jersey would also likely receive. It's believed that the Nets would immediately buy out Stackhouse and release him if the proposed deal wound up going through.

Yet it seems safe to expect that a Kidd deal involving these three teams will likely happen quickly or fade to all the way dead sooner rather than later. New Jersey has been dealing with speculation about Kidd's future dating to last February's trade deadline, when Kidd was nearly dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers. "But Dallas and Portland," said one source, "won't want this [trade speculation] to linger because then it starts affecting their teams."

Its Official: Jason Kidd Wants Out Of The New Jersey Franchise

How is a team composed of Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson, and a man who seems to get triple doubles every other game so terrible? Jason Kidd seems to know the answer.

Jason Kidd has come to grips with two realities. One, the New Jersey Nets aren't very good. Two, that their only chance of improving is to deal him. "I'm not mad at anybody," he said Monday afternoon by phone. "Sometimes, when you ride a wave, you get to the end and that's all there is. That's where we are."

Kidd confirmed that his agent, Jeff Schwartz, has talked to Nets' management about moving him by the Feb. 21 trade deadline, but he categorized the conversation as a continuation of something that started last All-Star break, when the Nets nearly dealt him to the Lakers for a package of players that included Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown. The sticking point was that Nets president Rod Thorn wanted Andrew Bynum and the Lakers refused.

While initial reports had Kidd, 34, insisting on being sent to a contender, he said Monday that he realizes there are no guarantees in any scenario. At this point, he simply wants to play for a team that can compete every night and utilize his talents.

Kidd

"It used to be if I got a triple-double, that was an automatic win," he said. "That's just not the case now. We tried to make this work. We've found out it doesn't. It's time for us all to move on."

Schwartz, in exploring current options for his client with other NBA teams, has been told that with Vince Carter signing a new four-year $61.8 million contract and Richard Jefferson having three years and $42 million left on his six-year deal, Kidd is the only moveable major asset New Jersey has.

There are a variety of teams who would be interested in acquiring Kidd -- Dallas and Denver already have reached out in the last week, a source said -- but it's a matter of what the Nets would insist upon in return. If draft picks are involved, weighing true value is infinitely easier after the May draft lottery, when the selection order is set and teams have a better idea of which players plan to declare their draft eligibility.

Would Jason Kidd fit in well with the Lakers. I would say, yes, because Jason Kidd is traditionally a pass first kind of player and Kobe Bryant is traditionally a shoot first kind of player. However, the Lakers as they are now are playing well together, Kobe is finally happy, and the asking price of players the Nets are requesting for Jason Kidd is too much.

Any team would gobble up Jason Kidd....he's an amazing player. I don't know why he suddenly is unhappy on the Nets. He's the leader of the team and its up to the leader to take his team as far as the team can go. Look at Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, and Dwayne Wade....I would argue that Jason Kidd has better talent surrounding him than these other players have and you don't see them complaining about wanting to be traded because their teams aren't or weren't producing. Well, Lebron James and Dwayne Wade never complained and Kobe Bryant stopped complaining.

Lebron James And Kobe Bryant Did Not Disappoint In This Controversial Ending

LeBron James and Kobe Bryant went back and forth throughout an intense fourth quarter.James and his Cleveland Cavaliers won out in the end, even surviving a few raindrops at Staples Center.

James scored 14 of his 41 points in the final period, and the Cavaliers beat the short-handed Lakers 98-95 Sunday for their 12th win in 15 games.Bryant scored nine of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, and also had 12 rebounds and six assists, but it wouldn't be enough to keep the Lakers from losing their third straight to match their longest losing streak of the season.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 16 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 6:14 to play, and Larry Hughes also scored 16 points for the Cavaliers (24-19), who have beaten the Lakers in their last five meetings.

Lamar Odom had 14 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers (27-15), who have a 2-4 record since center Andrew Bynum injured his left knee. It was their fourth game without Trevor Ariza, who broke his right foot. Neither player is expected to return before the middle of March.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Anderson Varejao was helped from the court late in the third quarter of a game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday with an injured left ankle.

X-rays were negative, but he will undergo an MRI on Monday.

Right after teammate LeBron James made a layup, Varejao stepped on the foot of Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic as he entered the lane, trailing the play. Varejao was helped from the court, unable to put weight on his left leg.

Varejao, averaging 8.0 points and a team-leading 8.7 rebounds, had two points and four rebounds in 17 minutes when he was injured, with 3:12 left in the third period and the Cavaliers leading 63-59.

The game was delayed for 12 minutes late in the first quarter because of a small leak in the Staples Center roof. It resulted in a steady flow of drops falling under the north basket -- out of bounds but less than a foot from the baseline. Arena spokesman Michael Roth said a roofing company inspected the roof Sunday morning and when the inspectors were finished, they removed their rain gear and left it along with some equipment on a catwalk over the north basket. The leak came from the clothing and equipment through slats in the catwalk.

The Cavaliers took a 94-93 lead on a basket by James with 1:16 remaining, and Bryant drew an offensive foul nine seconds later. After an empty possession by each team, James ran the shot clock down before hitting from outside with 20 seconds to go, giving the Cavaliers a three-point lead. Ronny Turiaf made a follow shot with 13 seconds left, trimming Cleveland's lead to one point, but James made two free throws four seconds later to make it 98-95. The Lakers called a timeout, but were unable to get off a potential game-tying 3-pointer before the final buzzer sounded.

Welcome To The NBA Kevin Durant!

From one young superstar to another, LeBron James showed Kevin Durant how it's done by scoring 22 points, and the Cleveland Cavaliers didn't wait until the fourth quarter to put away the Seattle SuperSonics 95-79 on Tuesday night.

James, who scored 24 points in the fourth on Sunday when the Cavs (18-17) rallied for a win in Toronto, was able to sit out the final 8:36 as Cleveland coasted to its sixth win in seven games and moved over .500 for the first time since Nov. 30.

Durant, Seattle's silky smooth rookie, scored 24 points and showed off some of his blossoming pro game while being guarded at times by James, who has become close friends with the No. 2 overall pick.Durant sprained his left ankle while making a jump shot with 7:31 left in the fourth quarter. He untied his sneaker and briefly went to the bench before limping to Seattle's locker room for treatment and did not return.

I don't know the status of Durant's injury, but since they labeled it as a sprained ankle, he should hopefully return to the lineup soon. They need the player who will soon become rookie of the year playing as much as possible for them.

The Most Valuable Franchises In The NBA According To Forbes

Despite the struggles and antics of the New York Knicks on and off the court, they still remain the NBA's most valuable franchise for the third straight year, according to a list compiled by Forbes. The Knicks were valued at $604 million, up 3 percent from the previous year despite a spate of losing, an embarrassing defeat in a sexual harassment lawsuit, poor team chemistry, and continuing questions about the future of coach Isiah Thomas.

The NBA's marquee franchise also had a league-high $196 million in revenues for the 2006-07 season while topping the list with negative $42.2 million in operating income after going 33-49 and missing the playoffs.

A lot of the Knicks' success, money-wise, has to do with where they play. New York is the medulla oblongata of American culture and I am willing to bet that if the Knicks played anywhere else, people wouldn't waste their time and money watching this team. I would rank the circus as a slightly better tourist attraction, though the Knicks aren't far from that. The Knicks may have the most valuable franchise, but not the most valuable team

The Los Angeles Lakers decreased in value 2 percent, down to $560 from $568 million, but remained second on the list. I would suspect this is due to their recent lack of success and the other number of California teams available to watch. It can't be because of Kobe; he's probably the only reason why the Lakers draw in the money they do.

The Chicago Bulls were third with a value of $500 million and a league-best $59.3 million in operating income. Let's see how long this lasts with that amazing team of theirs who inexplainably can't win.

The Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets rounded out the top five.

The Cleveland Cavailers showed the biggest jump in value among the top 10 teams, increasing 20 percent to $455 million. They jumped from 10th to seventh. I believe two words are responsible for that: Lebron James.

Lebron James Is A Real Difference Maker

Growing up during my generation of basketball, I had the luxury of watching the great Michael Jordan lead his team to six championships. Jordan not only was amazing to watch, but changed the face of basketball and attracted many new fans. Now, I understand Lebron James will never be Jordan and I also understand people are tired of hearing him be compared to Jordan or being called the next Jordan. Lebron James is who his name says he is. However, this man can provide for the younger generation of kids, who missed out on the MJ era and never witnessed him first-hand, an athlete to look up in the same style as Jordan.

Having said that, lets look at the Cavaliers at the moment. The Cleveland Cavilers have lost their last 4 games in a row. One can come up with as many excuses as he can, but the sole reason for their losing streak is the difference maker, Lebron James, has not been playing.

James missed his third straight game because of a sprained left index finger. He was hurt Wednesday in a loss to Detroit, when Nazr Mohammed slapped at the ball as James began to shoot.

Their most recent loss was to the New Jersey Nets, in which Richard Jefferson scored a season high 36 points in their 100-79 blowout.

Unfortunatly, Brown wouldn't comment before the game on whether James' injury is taking longer to heal than first anticipated and I haven't heard any updates. However, one thing is clear, without this difference maker on the team the Cavs look lost at the moment.

The Cavaliers have lost four straight and are 0-3 without their superstar forward, falling to 9-10.

Lebron James Injured In Loss To The Pistons

Isn't it funny how things can radically change in one day? Just last night I was ranting about how Lebron James is the king of basketball and now tonight he hurts his finger and his team got slaughtered. This was the first rematch of the Cavs and Pistons since the Cavs knocked the Pistons out of the playoffs last season.

James sprained his left index finger in the second quarter Wednesday night, and did not return, and the Detroit Pistons went on to beat the Cleveland Cavilers 109-74 Wednesday night. The Pistons insisted the victory didn't mean any less to them even though it came against a team missing its first, second and third option on offense.

The Cavs said James' X-rays were negative, adding he would be evaluated again Thursday. James returned to Cleveland's bench late in the third quarter and as soon as he hit the bench, the Pistons went on a tear.

Injuries happen in sports of course and Lebron should bounce back from this easily. Like I said, sports is funny like that. One day your king, the next day you're dethroned, and the day after you're back to being the king.

Lebron James Beats The Celtics and Shows Why He Is The King

Lebron James led all scorers with 38 points and 13 assists as he and the Cavs handed the seemingly invincible Celtics their 2nd loss of the year in overtime with a score of 109-104. This gives Lebron 8 straight games in which he scored 30 points or more against the Celtics. Drew Gooden also contributed tremendolusly with 24 points and 13 rebounds. The Big Three combined for 64 points, but this time it wasn't enough to gain a win.

With this loss, the Celtics, as good as they have been playing, have just a slim lead for the best record in the NBA. With a 11-2 (.846) record, the Celtics really need to be concerned about the Magic, who assembled an excellent team and has a record of 13-3 (.813). Not much of a difference in percentages is there?

Meanwhile, the Cavs win and the Bucks loss puts the Cavs in a three way tie for best record in the Eastern Central Conference. The Cavs (9-6), the Pistons (8-5), and the Bucks (7-4) all have different records and percentages, but it all adds up to a dead heat for first place.