2009-10 NBA Season now playing!

The 2009-10 NBA Season is now in full swing! The latest National Basketball Association season kicked off Tuesday October 27th, 2009 with four games on the schedule. Opening night featured plenty of stars including Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Shaq, Lebron James and Gilbert Arenas. Here's a look at some of the top stories, stats and scores from the opening night's action on the hardwood.

The marquee matchup of Tuesday night featured the Cleveland Cavaliers hosting the Boston Celtics. It was the debut game for new Cav Shaquille O'Neal, but the Celts played spoilers as they won 95-89 behind a combined 52 points from the Big 3 of Pierce, Allen & KG. Garnett had 13 in his first regular game since last March while Pierce led with 23 pts. Lebron James scored 38 points along with eight assists, four blocks and two steals. His new frontcourt teammate Shaq added in 10 points and 10 rebounds. In other Celtics' news, Glen "Big Baby" Davis is out with a thumb injury caused by an altercation involving a former college teammate. The Celtics have reportedly suspended Davis for the injury as well. He received surgery on Tuesday for it and is out indefinitely as of this writing. More on that story here

The NBA champion Lakers started their season off with a nice home victory over the local rival Clippers, 99-92. Kobe put in 33 points with 8 rebounds and 4 steals, and center Andrew Bynum added 26pts and 13 boards. Ron Artest had 10 points in his debut for LA. The Clips were lead by Gordon's 21 point performance and helped by Chris Kaman's 18 points / 16 boards. Unfortunately the Clippers were without their prized rookie Blake Griffin who suffered a broken kneecap during the past few weeks. Griffin is reportedly out for 6 months and watched his team lose by 7 to the NBA champs.

Agent 0, Gilbert Arenas, is officially back in effect on the court. The star guard had been saddled by injury last season. Last night, his 29 points and 9 assists helped the Washington Wizards defeat the Dallas Mavericks 102-91.

The Portland Trailblazers look to build upon last season's success as they opened with a win against the Houston Rockets who are without Yao Ming for this season. Brandon Roy led the Blazers with 20 points. Former #1 draft pick Greg Oden recorded just 2 points but 12 rebounds in the win, while Houston was led by Aaron Brooks' 19 points.

Wednesday night will feature more teams in action with 12 games on the slate. A doubleheader on ESPN will see the Hornets take on the Spurs while the Jazz face last year's Western Conference runner-ups, the Denver Nuggets. See full schedule here.

NBA 2009-10 Season Schedules

The 2009-10 NBA Season will kick off in style on TNT Tuesday Ocotober 27th with an NBA doubleheader. In game 1, last year's Eastern Conference Finals Runner-ups, the Cleveland Cavaliers will go up against the NBA Champs from 2 seasons ago, the Boston Celtics. Lebron James and Shaquille O'Neal will have their first regular season contest together while the Celtics look to welcome Kevin Garnett, and recent pickups, Rasheed Wallace & Shelden Williams. In the second game of the night, it will be a battle of the two LA's. Kobe Bryant's NBA Champion Lakers will be taking on the in-town rival Los Angeles Clippers with their #1 draft pick, Blake Griffin. Two other games will go down on opening night; Washington takes on Dallas, while Portland hosts Houston.

The next night will be yet another doubleheader, this time airing on ESPN. Game 1 will feature Tim Duncan, Richard Jefferson and the San Antonio Spurs battling Chris Paul, Emeka Okafor and the New Orleans Hornets. In the second game of the night, Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets will go into Utah to go against Deron Williams and the Jazz. October 28th features a total of 12 NBA games on the slate.

The NBA Champion Lakers won't see their NBA Finals opponent from 2009, the Orlando Magic until Monday, January 18th, 2010. The Magic will have to wait until March 7th to host the champs at home. There will be a Christmas day treat for NBA fans as Kobe's Lakers visit Shaq, Lebron and the cavs in Cleveland for an afternoon contest.

In addition to various local sports coverage of games around the country, the usual networks will air plenty of games this season, with ESPN, ABC and TNT all showcasing some of the top matchups.

The NBA season will wrap up on Wednesday, April 14th 2010 as the Playoffs will kick into high gear soon thereafter.

NBA Preseason schedules will also be announced withing the coming weeks.

View Team by Team schedules here for the NBA 2009-10 season

Qunetin Richardson's 3rd Trade of Summer

Quentin Richardson is apparently part of a three way trade. That's three trades this summer. In his latest move, Q-Rich was swapped from the LA Clippers to the Minnesota Timberwolves for three players: Craig Smith, Sebastian Telfair and Mark Madsen. Previously, he was sent from Memphis to the Clippers for Zach Randolph, and on NBA Draft 2009 night he was swapped with the Knicks to the Grizzlies in a deal for the mysterious superstar, Darko Milicic.

Will the third team be a charm this summer? This will be Richardson's 10th NBA Season, and he's starting to play musical teams as a swingman it seems. He's part of Team Jordan, and previously had his best season stats wise with the Clippers back in 2003-04. Unfortunately, Richardson spent just a weekend with his former team and now will head over to the ever-rebuilding Minnesota Twolves. For now that is....

More about Q-Rich's trade to Minnesota here

NBA Summer League Las Vegas 2009 Edition

The NBA's Summer League 2009 kicked off in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 10, 2009. The schedule includes 21 teams participating and 55 games total, wrapping up on July 19th. You can expect to see the likes of top NBA draft prospects and D-Leaguers in action. The top NBA draft picks will be in action: Blake Griffin of the Clippers, Hasheem Thabeet of the Grizzlies and James Harden of the Thunder. Some of the vets in the summer league include the Thunder's Keith McLeod and Spurs' George Hill.

#1 pick Blake Griffin expects to have a busy summer, according to NBA.com:

“I’m going be to be working out as hard as I can,” Griffin said. “You know, Summer League, I'll be there, and I'm also going to the USA trials at the end of July in Vegas.”

There's also a summer league going on down in Orlando, and according to NBA.com, the Thunder are one team that is competing in both of the leagues. Guard Russell Westbrook will be in Orlando, while James Harden and BJ Mullens will play in Vegas. Several other second year players and some international prospects from their team will also make the trip to the desert. Unfortunately, Blazers rookie Patty Mills suffered a broken right foot and won't be participating in the league.

NBA.com has also picked out 10 games of note, including a July 12th battle between the #2 and #3 picks, Memphis Grizzlies' Hasheem Thabeet and OKC Thunder's James Harden. One of the final games of the schedule features Blake Griffin in action against the Phoenix Suns.

On day 1 of the league, Pistons #35 pick DeJuan Summers scored a monstrous 24 pts against the Kings, including many dunks, and seven rebounds as well. The Warriors' young phenom, Stephen Curry, scored 16, missed 10 out of 14 shots and had 7 fouls (I guess the rules change in a summer league).

All in all, the 2009 NBA summer league will provide a fresh look at some of the top prospects to possibly gauge who will be making some noise during the regular season, possibly propelling their team to greater success.

Also see: 2009 NBA Draft Results, Round 1

Rasheed Wallace to Celtics, Ron Artest to Lakers

The last two NBA Champions, the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics each added a key veteran superstar to their lineups within the past week or so. Just last week, the Los Angeles Lakers signed Ron Artest, a nemesis of Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. Clips have been shown repeatedly of their fierce battle during the playoffs, including Artest's antics while jawing with Kobe. Kobe's Lakers got the last laugh with the series win and eventual championship, and then quickly gobbled up the defensive stalwart Artest in a move to help solidify their chances of a repeat. Add Artest in with Gasol, Bynum and Odom, and you've got some nice frontcourt depth going.

Meanwhile, a team that definitely was disappointed this postseason was the Boston Celtics. They were hurt most by Kevin Garnett's injury which caused his playoff absence. Although they outlasted the Bulls in 7 games, they just didn't have the frontcourt presence to compete with Orlando, who eventually went on to the NBA Finals. Smartly, the Celtics just recently signed Rasheed Wallace from the Detroit Pistons. The move comes right after Detroit landed free agents Ben Gordon from the Bulls and Charlie Villanueva from the Bucks. Cleveland also added Shaquille O'Neal in the past few weeks, Vince Carter went to the Magic during the NBA draft, and Pistons guard Allen Iverson has been hunting for a new team.

It's ironic that the Celtics and Lakers signed two of the more controversial players in the NBA, but also two extremely talented stars. These teams most likely will embrace these two hotheaded stars who tend to rack up the technical fouls, and they have the coaches and other players capable of keeping them in a less volatile state. At Boston you've got KG, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, three amigos and class act workmen on the court, who Rasheed should fit in nicely with. Artest will be aligned with Kobe which can't be a bad thing either, and Phil Jackson is no stranger to coaching bizarre, hard to handle talent, such as Dennis Rodman.

It's hard to speculate which team has made the best moves this postseason but it seems several of the top dogs are looking to once again fight for the top position and records en route to an NBA title.

Detroit signs Gordon & Villanueva

The Detroit Pistons looked to keep themselves alive in the hunt for another NBA Title by adding two new stars to their lineup. According to the Detroit Free Press the Pistons signed Ben Gordon, shooting guard from the Bulls, and Charlie Villanueva, forward from the Milwaukee Bucks. Gordon was the Bulls' leading scorer for the past four years, and Villanueva has been coming into his own as an impressive rebounder and potential scorer. There had been rumors going around that Villanueva might end up on Cleveland as well. Gordon's signing is estimated at $55 million while Villanueva's is at $35 mill.

Both guys are also products of the University of Connecticut, and they'll now be aligned with another UCONN alumni, sharpshooter Richard Hamilton. Hamilton's got the NCAA Title, the NBA Title. Gordon's got just the NCAA title while Villanueva has yet to taste any championship champagne. That may change now that the Pistons have added more talent to their already interesting lineup which includes All-star Allen Iverson and Rasheed Wallace.

The question is what will Chicago and Milwaukee be looking to do now that they've cleared some salary cap room? Will these teams look to add a superstar to their teams? No disrespect to either Derrick Rose or Michael Redd, but adding someone like Dwyane Wade wouldn't exactly hurt their chances at making a deep run towards the NBA Finals.

Yao Ming's Foot Injury Could End Career

The Houston Chronicle discusses the notion that Rockets All-Star Center, Yao Ming, could miss all of next season and possibly even end his career. The problem is that stubborn foot injury which kept him out of the playoff series against the Lakers. Yao is having no symptoms or physical signs due to the injury, but CT scans said otherwise. Apparently the foot's not healing as it should and may require Yao to be benched again next season. The team doctor, Tom Clanton, said the likeliness that Yao plays again depends on the success of whichever treatments are used.

Apparently, Yao had a pin inserted in his foot back in 2006 and played in the Olympics less than six months after that. This current situation while not as serious an injury as in 2006, may require more serious treatment.

From Houston Chronicle:

The surgical treatment options could include placing a pin inside the foot, a bone graft or even realigning the foot to operate differently. Cleveland Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas underwent similar procedures, reducing his high arch to a flatter foot position, an option that could be considered for Yao, Clanton said, though his arch is not as high as Ilgauskas’ was.

The Rockets enjoyed a tremendous 2008-09 NBA season and unfortunately met up with the eventual NBA Champs (minus Yao) in the postseason. They still possess a nicely formed, talented group including Ron Artest and Shane Battier, but T-Mac has been an injury question mark as well. Yao's had a plethora of foot injuries during his stellar career, but let's hope this latest one heals and allows the phenom to continue play. If not, the Rockets may have to consider shopping in the free agent market to pickup a new star.

2009 NBA Draft Round 1

The 2009 NBA draft lottery picks started off just as expected as Oklahoma phenom Blake Griffin was selected first overall. The Grizzlies snatched up imposing Connecticut defensive player Hasheem Thabeet to man the middle in Mephis. From there the Thunder took James Harden who many continue to be the most talented overall player in the draft. Minnesota had two picks in the top 5, and took Tyreke Evans of Memphis followed by Ricky Rubio from Spain.

Here's a look at the first 13 picks in the 2009 NBA Draft:

#1 Blake Griffin (Oklahoma) drafted by Los Angeles Clippers
#2 Hasheem Thabeet (UCONN) drafted by Memphis Grizzlies
#3 James Harden (Arizona St.) drafted by Oklahoma City Thunder
#4 Tyreke Evans (Memphis) drafted by Sacramento Kings
#5 Ricky Rubio (Spain) drafted by Minnesota Timberwolves
#6 Johnny Flynn (Syracuse) drafted by Minnesota Timberwolves
#7 Stephan Curry (Davidson) drafted by Golden State Warriors
#8 Jordan Hill (Arizona) drafted by NY Knicks
#9 DeMar DeRozan (USC) drafted by Toronto Raptors
#10 Brandon Jennings (USA-Intl.) drafted by Milwaukee Bucks
#11 Terrence Williams (Louisville) drafted by New Jersey Nets
#12 Gerald Henderson (Duke) drafted by Charlotte Bobcats
#13 Tyler Hansborough (UNC) drafted by Indiana Pacers

As usual, the local NY Knicks fans booed their teams pick Jordan Hill, but according to the commentators he was the best pick available at that spot. Of course, the NY fans have quite a bit to be unhappy about with their team failing to make the playoffs yet again, and possibly losing out on the Lebron James sweepstakes with the news Shaquille O'Neal had been traded to Cleveland earlier in the day.

In other trade news, New Jersey Nets All-Star forward, Vince Carter, was dealt to the Orlando Magic, in what appears to be a rebuilding effort for NJ. Orlando definitely added to its lineup now with Dwight Howard having the shooting services of Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis.

More draft coverage at NBA.com

2009 Draft Lottery Results

Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers were on the court getting ready to try to take out the Denver Nuggets and move one step closer to the NBA finals. Meanwhile, their in-state rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers won the draft lottery on Tuesday night, possibly securing a franchise player in the process. Blake Griffin from Oklahoma was interviewed by Mark Jones of ESPN, and asked about the possibility of him coming to LA as the #1 pick. Griffin said he plans to try his best to learn on the fly and make an immediate impact wherever he's drafted to. Other top draft picks will include the likes of Johnny Flynn, James Harden, Stephen Curry and Hasheem Thabeet of Connecticut.

2009 Draft Lottery order:

1) LA Clippers
2) Memphis Grizzlies
3) Oklahoma City Thunder
4) Sacramento Kings
5) Washington Wizards
6) Minnesota Timberwolves
7) Golden State Warriors
8) New York Knicks
9) Toronto Raptors
10) Milwaukee Bucks
11) New Jersey Nets
12) Charlotte Bobcats
13) Indianapolis Pacers
14) Phoenix Suns

Several of the representatives in attendance for the draft lottery selection show on ESPN wer either current or former players, as well as coaches. Chris Webber was there on behalf of the Kings, while Kevin Love was there for the Timberwolves. Former Knick Allan Houston was in attendance for New York. Scott Brooks represented his Oklahoma City Thunder, while Larry Bird represented the Pacers.

The 2009 NBA Draft will take place on June 25, 2009.