Cavs get Jamison & Celts Knicks Nate Robinson trade

Two teams who made moves on Wednesday were the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers. Boston's move which was rumored earlier Wednesday afternoon has the Celtics sending Eddie House to the New York Knicks in exchange for the 2010 Slam Dunk champion Nate Robinson. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers didn't get Ama're Stoudemire as they'd initially hoped, but most likely got the second best option available in terms of a versatile power forward, with Antawn Jamison. The Jamison trade is a 3-team affair which involves the LA Clippers in addition to the Cavs and Wizards.

For the Antawn Jamison deal, Cleveland will also pick up guard Sebastian Telfair. The Clippers get Drew Gooden, while the Wizards receive Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Al Thornton, Brian Skinner and a Cavs first-round pick.

The Celtics trade is a bit peculiar as Boston is looking to be a serious competitor in the 2010 Playoffs and return to their glory of two years ago with a trip to the Finals. Eddie House was an integral part in their championship team providing scoring ability from off the bench. It's possible the trade for Robinson could be part of a multi-team deal which also involves Ray Allen or other members of the team. The Wizards appear to be in complete rebuild mode now after trading away Caron Butler to the Dallas Mavericks and now Antawn Jamison. Their only legit superstar remaining is Gilbert Arenas who is currently suspended for the remainder of the season due to the gunplay incident involving teammate Javaris Crittendon. It's questionable if the Wizards will hold onto Arenas following his suspensions or seek to free up more salary space.

With the NBA trade deadline looming for Thursday, Ama're Stoudemire is still the big name out there that several teams are looking to acquire. Stay tuned!

Delonte West arrested for Weapons Charges

Cleveland Cavaliers star Delonte West was just recently arrested in Prince George's County of Maryland area on weapons charges. The NBA guard apparently had a total of three guns on his person and was stopped after cutting off a police officer, while riding a three-wheeler motorcycle (not a tricycle).

According to the Washington Post:

Delonte West, a guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers, was driving a three-wheeled motorcycle north on Interstate 95 near Route 214 in the Largo area when he cut off a Prince George's County police officer, authorities said. The officer pulled him over, and West told the officer that he was carrying a handgun in his waistband.

That prompted the officer to call for backup, and investigators found that West was actually carrying three guns: a Beretta 9mm in his waistband, a Ruger .357 strapped to his leg and a shotgun in a guitar case slung over his back,

The 26 year old West lives in the area and was formerly a high school basketball player there. His charges included speeding and two counts of carrying a handgun. Delonte was released on his own personal recognizance. There's no word on why West had the three weapons or where he was headed with them, but he definitely gives new meaning to the term "shooting guard".

(Story Source: WashingtonPost.com)

Lebron James on The Daily Show

Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star Lebron James was a special guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart a few days ago. The appearance was brief yet comical. The reigning NBA MVP was there in conjunction with a new book coming out called "Shooting Stars" which he co-authored with Buzz Bissinger.

Lebron spoke about the new book which covers his meteoric rise to basketball fame while he was playing high school ball for St. Vincent Mary's. Stewart asked how Lebron's former teammates are handling his success, and Lebron said they are excited for him. James said they've all kept in touch and his friends still got to see him play.

Stewart also ribbed Lebron about coming to New York when he presented him with an "I love New York" coffee mug, Shake Shack burgers and then a Tyranosaurus Rex vertebrae from the Natural Museum of History. Stewart then mentioned they have a great team called the Knickerbockers, and said all they get you in Cleveland is into the "Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame".

Watch video footage of Lebron James' appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart below.



Check out more information on Shooting Stars by Lebron James & Buzz Bissinger at Amazon.com!

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

TMZ Shows Lebron Dunk Video

The highly-searched for Jordan Crawford dunk on LeBron has finally come to see the light of day. Several websites including TMZ and ebaumnation.com are now showing the Lebron dunk video that had seemingly been confiscated by Lebron James' people and Nike. The dunk occurred during Lebron's summer basketball camp pickup game as a virtually unknown player, Jamal Crawford, threw it down on James during the game.

The dunk incident occurred at the LeBron James Skills Academy several weeks ago during a summer basketball camp game. College player, Jamal Crawford, who will be playing for Xavier this coming season, scored the two handed jam on King James. Various cameramen caught the footage including some from CBS. A high school player who was at the event Soon afterwards, all tapes of the "incident" were confiscated. Apparently some footage was not taken care of, as several websites were able to present the video footage as of Wednesday night.

Check out the links below to see the video footage of "The Dunk" we thought we'd never see!

TMZ's presentation of Lebron dunk

Detroit Free Press shows Lebron getting dunked on

Shaq & Lebron United in Cleveland

It's official- the Diesel is now a Cleveland Cavalier. The Cavs are not only working to solidify their championship run for 2009-10, but they're also looking to keep megastar Lebron James in town. So to do this they decided to bring another superstar to town to appease the King. That superstar is the very large and still in charge man in the middle, Shaquille O'Neal. On Thursday AM it was made official in a multi-player deal that would bring Shaq to Cleveland. Cleveland center and former defensive player of the year, Ben Wallace was one of those traded to Phoenix. NY Times explains just how the move might keep Lebron true to his original team, the Cavs:

The trade could reverberate right into next summer. James is expected to become a free agent in July 2010. At least a dozen teams — including the Knicks — have been clearing salary-cap space to pursue James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, among others.

If O’Neal, who won titles with Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles and Wade in Miami — can help James secure his first ring, it will make it harder for James to leave his home state. At a minimum, the Cavaliers’ owner, Dan Gilbert, and General Manager Danny Ferry have again demonstrated to James that they will go to great lengths to win a title and keep James happy.

Read more about the trade, Shaq and Lebron at NyTimes.

The Cavs make for Shaq's fifth team in 17 years time. He started with Orlando, made the big move to Los Angeles Lakers to win 3 titles, then teamed up with Dwyane Wade to win #4. From there he was dealt to Phoenix to attempt to propel the Suns to their first Finals, but it never worked, despite Shaq putting up impressive numbers at this late stage in his career. Thursday night will be the 2009 Draft and could make several teams into 2009-10 playoff contenders, but most likely the Cavs will remain in the upper eschelon now with Lebron and Shaq able to contend with the likes of Dwight Howard of the Magic and the Big 3 of Boston.

Lebron & Kobe's MVPuppets ads by Nike

They didn't have the dream 2009 NBA finals that everyone expected this postseason, largely due to Dwight Howard and the Magic knocking the Cleveland Cavs out of this year's Playoffs. However, Nike still has some downright clever and hilarious ads featuring muppet or puppet versions of Lebron & Kobe. The Nike commercials are called "MVP's" Most Valuable Puppets featuring Lebron, Kobe & a few others. In the latest one you may have seen, the 2 superstar NBA friends & foes are asked to watch Mrs. Lewis' kid "Lil' Dez" from downstairs. Dez is one inuqiring mind when it comes to Kobe & lebron....Check it out below as well as links to several other of these ads, including Lebron's Chalk and the Car Jump...



Kobe & Lebron Nike Chalk ad

Kobe & Lebron Nike 3 Championship Rings ad

Kobe & Lebron Unstoppable Nike ad

Kobe & Lebron in Nike Car Jump ad

Kobe Lebron Nike Mrs Lewis puppet ad

Lebron's 3 at Buzzer beats Magic

This is the stuff NBA legends and MVP's are made of. On Friday night, the Orlando Magic seemed to have the Cavs down against the ropes, facing a possible 0-2 deficit in their Eastern Conference Finals series. However, where there's a second left, there's a Lebron, and King James delivered in Game 2 with a last second 3 pointer. Moments beforehand, the Magic's Hedo Turkoglu hit a runner in the lane to give the Magic a 95-93 lead. Things seemed somewhat gloomy for Cleveland, but never in their building when you've got the MVP and premiere superstar in the league. Mo Williams waited it out on the inbounds and eventually found Lebron James up at the top of the 3 point line. Lebron caught and released in a fluid movement, hitting an amazing 3 pointer over Hedo Turkoglu in his grill. In Game 1 it was Rashard Lewis hitting a game winner, and now Lebron has matched it. Lebrons finished the game up with a game-leading 35 points. Fans were silent with a second left, but after the shot was official, the placed went wild. Fans were still celebrating in the streets outside the Q. Lebron saved the day and the series as they now will head to the Magic Kingdom to duke it out in the next 2 games, which promise to be just as compelling as the first 2.

We now have two very even pace starts to both the East and West series. In Game 2 out West, Denver was able to steal a 3 point win against the LA Lakers evening that series up. Orlando and Cleveland are also knotted up at 1-1. Stay tuned as this weekend will offer some very intriguing and hopefully equally as thrilling Game 3's!

2009 NBA Playoffs Matchups & Schedule

The 2009 NBA Playoffs schedule opens on Saturday, April 18th and seem to hold plenty of intriguing matchups and storylines. Most interesting may be the fact that the Lakers and Cavs seem on a potential collision course in the NBA Finals, which would finally pit the two arguably best players in the game against one another. A Kobe Bryant-Lebron James face-off in the Finals may be the dream of many hoops fans as well as Commissioner David Stern, but let's get through the rest of the playoffs first, giving the others a chance. After all, the Boston Celtics are still the reigning champs, and gained the services of one Stephon Marbury. The East has 3 potential suitors for the NBA Championship in Cleveland, Boston, and Orlando, while there's always room for some surprises. The Chicago Bulls have even managed to get themselves back into the hunt once again, giving President Obama reason for hope.

In the NBA's Western Conference is where the real intrigue lies, as the Lakers have been the best of the West, but you've got the tried and true San Antonio Spurs who have some chance to give them problems. The Trailblazers have split their season series with LA, while Denver, Houston, New Orleans, Dallas and Utah aren't exactly slouches either. Particulary interesting first round matchups could see Utah squaring off against San Antonio and the young, talented Trailblazers facing a powerful inside game and defensive-minded nature of the Houston Rockets team.

The NBA's regular season ends Wednesday and the Cavs could potentially be a frightening 40-1 at home for the season. Their 1 loss of course comes to the other frightening phenomenon in the NBA, the 2008-09 LA Lakers.

The playoff teams have all been determined so there won't be any major drama in these final few days of regular season play, but here's how things stand as of today:

Western Conference playoff teams:

#1 seed: LA Lakers
#2 seed: San Antonio Spurs
#3 seed: Denver Nuggets
#4 seed: Houston Rockets
#5 seed: Portland Trailblazers
#6 seed: New Orleans Hornets
#7 seed: Utah Jazz
#8 seed: Dallas Mavericks

Eastern Conference playoff teams:

#1 seed: Cleveland Cavaliers
#2 seed: Boston Celtics
#3 seed: Orlando Magic
#4 seed: Atlanta Hawks
#5 seed: Miami Heat
#6 seed: Philadelphia 76ers
#7 seed: Chicago Bulls
#8 seed: Detroit Pistons

Sports Illustrated breaks down the potential 2009 NBA Playoff matchups and projections.

Stay tuned as the 2009 NBA Playoff matchups and schedule are announced...

Askmen Predicts NBA Finals Rematch

Popular online men's magazine, Askmen.com, has a recent article up entitled "Top 10: Reasons Why It Will Be a Lakers-Celtics Final". Included in their reasoning for this rematch are things such as the fact that the Houston Rockets are injury-prone and the Hornet's haven't improved since last season. Also a valid point made may be, that no other teams' offseason moves will make a big enough difference in terms of pushing a team into title contention. So far, it's seemed to be only a handful of teams mentioned in 2009 title talks, with the Celtics and Lakers always considered hot, and the Cavs and Magic capable of catching serious fire in the playoffs...

Here's Askmen.com's 10 reasons we'll see Lakers-Celtics this June:

No.10 - None of the off-season moves had noticeable impacts
No. 9 - The Denver Nuggets are a paper tiger
No.8 - The Houston Rockets are injury-prone
No.7 - The New Orleans Hornets haven't improved
No.6 - The Dallas Mavericks & the Phoenix Suns have regressed
No.5 - The Detroit Pistons have fallen off
No.4 - The San Antonio Spurs lack proven depth
No.3 - The Cleveland Cavaliers & the Orlando Magic are a step behind
No.2 - The Los Angeles Lakers' depth can't be matched
No.1 - The Boston Celtics are a year older

Number 1 reason makes plenty of sense, as the Big 3 are a year older and wiser with their first title under wraps. But as you can see from the above, several teams were basically dissed by the online men's mag, especially the Cavs and Magic who have been amongst the top 4 teams most of this season. Lebron James showed 2 years ago he's got the skill, poise and raw talent to lead a squad to the promised land (although not the title per se). Dwight Howard has taken on the role of the new-age Shaq, providing the Orlando Magic with the most dominant big man in the game today. Don't count either out just yet...

Several analysts have recently picked what could be a more realistic Finals matchup, with the Lakers in the West meeting the Cavaliers from the East. It would make for another NBA dream matchup, which would feature the two best players the NBA has to offer going head to head for the title. Kobe vs. Lebron, center stage...

Read full article - Top 10: Reasons Why It Will Be a Lakers-Celtics Final at Askmen.com

Lebron James = Midseason MVP

During ESPN's NBA Shootaround show on Friday night, both Avery Johnson and Jalen Rose chose Lebron James as their "Midseason NBA MVP". Avery Johnson said he considers Lebron as having a shot at the MVP as well as Defensive Player of the Year. Jalen Rose agreed with Avery's midseason MVP, and added in that the best closer in the game is Kobe Bryant while the best point guard is Chris Paul. Host of NBA Shootaround, Looking at King James' stats in the chart below, it's clear he's on pace for the award as he's helping out with just about every important stat on the floor, offensively and defensely.

ESPN featured a doubleheader afterwards with 4 of the top 5 MVP candidates from 2007-08 as well as the 3 top teams from the league in action. Lebron's Cavs faced Chris Paul's Hornets in Game 1. Game 2 featured Kobe Bryant and the Lakers versus Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic. One of these four players could be the surefire MVP as the 2008-09 award is handed out. Last year saw Kobe take the award over Chris Paul. In reviewing the stats below each of these players is statistically sound and quite capable of putting up the tough-to-achieve quadruple double in stats. All four men were also a part of last year's Gold Medal Summer Olympics squad and according to Jalen Rose are setting themselves up as legendary Hall of Fame players.

Current stats for the four MVP candidates:

Lebron James 27.7 PPG, 6.90 RPG, 6.7 APG, 2.0 SPG, 1.3 BPG
Cleveland Cavaliers (30-7)

Chris Paul 20.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 11 APG, 2.91 SPG, 0.1 BPG
New Orleans Hornets (23-12)

Kobe Bryant 27.2PPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.7 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.4 BPG
Los Angeles Lakers (31-7)

Dwight Howard 20.2 PPG, 13.8 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.0 SPG, 3.2 BPG
Orlando Magic (31-8)

Lebron's Latest Magazine Cover

(GQ February 2009 issue)

Add another achievement to the career of young phenom Lebron James! For the Gentlemen's Quarterly magazine (GQ), their February 2009 issue features Lebron on the cover along with an inside interview. In the interview Lebron discusses his latest endorsement deals, his two young sons and Barack Obama as the first African American president.

The GQ story also had Lebron suit up for a casual pickup game with the GQ magazine editors and writers in Cleveland. For the cover, Lebron dons a gray suit, pink shirt and gray tie. The cover can be added to his resume along with the likes of Fortune, Sports Illustratde, ESPN Magazine and Vogue. Lebron was the first black male to appear on Vogue in its 116-year history.

Lebron had the following to say regarding his scoring the cover of GQ and about who shaped his fashion sense most:

"It's great," he said of his GQ cover. "It shows that I'm fashionable. I never thought I would be on the cover of GQ. But I've done some things I never thought I would do."

"I have to thank (NBA commissioner) David Stern," James said. "Ever since he put in the rule about having to get dressed for the game, I had to get dressed."

(Source: WashingtonPost)

70 Wins for Cavs or Lakers?

Jerry Crowe in his recent LA Times Sports column mentions the tough milestone of winning 70 games during an NBA season. It was last accomplished by the unstopa-Bulls back in the 1995-96 season, lead by of course Michael Jordan. The Boston Celtics tried to hit the 70 win mark ten years earlier during the 1985-86 season. That was the Celtics team which featured Larry Legend and Kevin McHale. They lost just 1 game all season at home, yet failed to achieve a 70 win season.

Looking at the NBA standings, there's three teams that have been considered legitimate contenders for 70 games in 2008-09; the Los Angeles Lakers (currently 28-6), the Cleveland Cavaliers (currently 28-6), and the aforementioned Boston Celtics (currently 29-8). As the season was steamrolling ahead for the Celtics not long ago, the talk was that this team had that milestone all but achieved. For some reason, the Celtics have been having a miserable time since losing to the Lakers, then the Warriors, then the Blazers, Knicks and most recently the Houston Rockets. The Celtics would only be allowed two more losses for the rest of the season to hit the 70-win mark. The injury bug has hit them, and many analysts continue to say they need some more depth, such as the problematic New York Knick, Stephon Marbury.

The Cavs and Lakers are allowed 6 more losses each, and if they hit the halfway point on that pace, it's a realistic goal for the two teams to get 70 wins each. Each has a Jordan-esque superstar with Kobe Bryant and Lebron James. Both are considered lethal scorers capable of doing the other things needed to really take over a game. It's also been said each has vastly improved on their defense, especially Lebron who wanted to add to his repertoire. These are the sort of ingredients of a Jordan-type baller, hungry for MVP awards, NBA titles, and 70-win seasons. Judging by the competitive drive of both players to be the best in the league, and any team facing these two in the 2nd half of the season could be in for a rough game.

The East is in the House 08'

As of 12/24/08 the Boston Celtics were riding higher than any other team and Santa Claus as they held a 19 game consecutive win streak. Christmas day arrives and Kobe Bryant's Lakers put a prompt end to that with a 9 point victory in Los Angeles. That loss may have been acceptable and expected by many, but then the Celtics lost 2 straight after Friday night's loss to a hungry Golden State Warriors squad.

So from a 19 game win streak to their first 2 game losing streak all season? It's indeed a curious case like Benjamin Button, but quite possibly the 2nd game came as a result of the first loss. Possibly the "oomph" was taken out from under them. The team was suddenly beatable and all other NBA teams took notice that it was possible to defeat the Celtics. After all the Pacers were one of the teams to do it, a team not many expect to be much of a challenger in the Eastern Conference. Stephen Jackson came up big for his Golden State Warriors to help bury the Celtics, possibly sensing a wounded squad after the Lakers loss. The Celtics are still the best there is in the league, but definitely have showed they are far from those 72-10 invinci-Bulls of yesteryear.

While the Celtics managed to gain a win on Sunday night, two other teams in the East are red hot right now. The Magic have won 7 straight games thanks to the inside-outside attack of Dwight Howard & Rashard Lewis. Add in sharpshooter Hedo Turkoglu and floor leader Jameer Nelson and this squad is one of the top 4 record-wise in the league, defeating the likes of New Orleans. The Cavs are on a 6 game win streak, behind the always-inspired King James & company.

Eastern Conference Top 8 (with Games Back):

1. * Boston --
2. * Cleveland 1.0
3. * Orlando 3.0
4. Atlanta 7.5
5. Detroit 9.0
6. Miami 10.5
7. New Jersey 12.0
8. Milwaukee 13.5

* Leads division

That said the Celtics (28-4), Cavs (26-4) and Magic (24-6) would be in the Top 4 in the West right now in terms of records along with the Lakers. Two other teams, the Pistons and Hawks look to be dangerous competitors come playoff time. It's great to see what looks like some sort of a power-shift to the East side after so many years of razzing that "the West is best". Then again the Celtics & Magic both sport former West coast stars in Rashard Lewis, Ray Allen & Kevin Garnett...

Lebron & Cavs Win Streak Ends in Atlanta

Yesterday both the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers were enjoying massive win streaks, in fact the NBA's hottest streaks around. What a difference a day makes, as the Atlanta Hawks stopped the Cavs short of reaching their franchise record Saturday night. Atlanta was able to hold on for a 97-92 victory on their homecourt, stopping Lebron and the Cavs in their streak's tracks.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution called it "the good Hawks" who showed up Saturday, able to play under control with good D, and hang tough against the NBA's elite, like the Cavs. This same Atlanta team took Boston 7 games in last year's playoffs, making the NBA world take note. The Hawks may be able to play spoilers once again come playoff time, even with the departure of Josh Childress who went over to Europe. It all rests on the play of Atlanta's young emerging talent such as Josh Smith, Joe Johnson and Al Horford.

Despite their first loss in some time, Cleveland is still considered amongst the NBA Eastern Conference elite, as well as part of a short list of possible title winners this season. Lebron continues to remain the focal point, accomplishing stats, feats and highlights unseen before as he moves closer each day to free agency. So Cleveland will continue to measure itself against Boston, while the Hawks of the East will strive to put together a team (or draft a megastar) capable of playing at that championship level.

Read more about the Cavs & Hawks at AJC.

Cavaliers & Celtics Keep the Wins Comin'

(Which player's team will outdo the other's in 2008-09?)

The two hottest teams in all the NBA right now are definitely the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics. As the Cavs keep on winning, so do the Celts. Currently Cleveland has won 11 straight, but Boston is better winning 14 straight games. Each team added to their win total on Friday night.

On Friday night Cleveland took out the Sixers 88-72 to improve to a 20-3 record on the season. Meanwhile in Beantown, the Celtics defeated the New Orleans Hornets 94-82. Boston sits at a 22-2 record, just slightly better than the red-hot Cavs. The Celtics are on their best winning streak since 1981-82 when they won 18 straight, while the Cavs can achieve their franchise record for consecutive wins with a win Saturday night in Atlanta. Last year, The Houston Rockets won over 20 straight games making them one of the most impressive teams in all of pro sports. Even more amazing, they won many of the games without Yao Ming. Will Boston or Cleveland better that streak this season?

These two teams met in last year's playoffs, with the result being an extended series, but the Big 3 triumphant over King James, mostly thanks to captain Paul Pierce. Currently James is right where he should be, atop the thrown as NBA leading scorer (30 ppg). The Big 3 are nowhere to be found in the top 10 scorers, as they don't need to be. The Celtics pride themselves on outstanding Team D and unity. Paul Pierce is the closest to the 10 spot for scorers, at 34th in scoring, while KG is down at 45th. Seasons ago, these two were in the top 10, but no need for that now. Contributions from these guys vary by game, with Ray Allen the lead scorer a few nights ago. Sometimes it's KG, sometimes it's Pierce, but that's acceptable when you're a solid unit and the current champs.

Curious as to when these two ultra-hot win machines will collide? The Celtics and Cavs don't play until the new year, on January 9th, 2009 in Cleveland. As far as the Celtics first possible loss, the Lakers might be the team to do it in a Christmas day showdown at 5 PM in Los Angeles...

See more about the Celtics and Cavs impressive win streaks, and the rest of NBA's Friday games.

NBA Defenders, Contenders & Pretenders

According to a recent Page 2 article by ESPN's Bill Simmons, there's a clear six-team list for this season's NBA title contenders: Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavs, LA Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz & New Orleans Hornets. Simmons contends that the Celts, Cavs & Lakers are high probability with the other 3 less likely to win it all.

Defenders: Moreso than last season, Boston is playing with targets on the players' backs as reigning NBA champions. The Celtics have just 2 losses this season and seem to be on pace for a possible return, once again plowing through competition. Many analysts questioned whether not holding on to James Posey would hurt the team. They still have the big 3, an emerging Rajon Rondo, and last year's success to build upon.

Contenders: If you peruse through the latest NBA standings, the Lakers are ahead of the pack with a 12-1 record, and are on fire this season. Most likely they are still hungry after losing to Boston in the Finals, and with Andrew Bynum's return they are definitely improved in the paint. The also have that pesky #24, the reigning MVP, Mr. Kobe "Killer Instinct" Bryant..

Then comes the Cavs, and we all know that Lebron continues to lead the way in Cleveland along with his supporting cast. Not only that, but he is going to be the most sought-after free agent in some time and is under constant scrutiny to perform. Most free agents up the level of their game, and Lebron is constantly on the rise. The Knicks recently cleaned up their pricey roster for a chance at acquiring the young phenom. Expect Lebron's Cavs to give the Celtics serious challenges come playoff time as Lebron continues improving, which is scary at his age and level of talent.

Simmons mentions that the Hornets seem to be faltering, making them the possible Western Conference pretenders. He argues that perhaps the team isn't in love with coach Byron Scott anymore. ">Read the full article here

In addition to Simmons' 6 contenders mentioned, you could argue that there's several teams in the league capable of getting hot near playoff time. The Lakers 1 loss came at the hands of the Pistons who now enjoy the services of one Allen Iverson. The Mavs are on a 6 game win streak right now, and they were in the Finals several years ago. Dirk is a former MVP while Kidd was nearly a former MVP. There's also the new-look Nuggets with Billups at point guard, the new look Rockets with Artest helping on D, and those Phoenix Suns with good ol' Shaq & Nash.

If the NBA playoffs started today, here's the teams competing:

Eastern Conference:

1) Boston 13-2
2) Cleveland 11-3
3) Orlando 10-4
4) Detroit 8-5
5) Atlanta 8-5
6) Miami 7-7
7) Philadelphia 7-7
8) New York 7-7

Western Conference:

1) L.A. Lakers 12-1
2) Houston 10-5
3) Denver 9-5
4) Phoenix 10-5
5) New Orleans 8-5
6) Utah 9-6
7) Portland 9-6
8) San Antonio 7-6

Perhaps the Knicks have the most to be thankful come Thanksgiving 2008; a .500 record, a chance at the playoffs, and a major chance at landing King James in a season or so.

Lebron's 11,000 Points Milestone & NYC Courtship

Last night King James added to his legacy by making history. Lebron became the youngest player in NBA history to score 11,000 points, as his Cleveland Cavaliers outdid the New Jersey Nets 106-82. James needed just 13 points to beat Kobe Bryant's record, and James did it in the first quarter alone with 15 points. Lebron not only broke Kobe's record, but also helped his team improve to 9-2 on the season. Right now they are just a half game behind the Boston Celtics for best record in the East.

While it is historic to see Lebron accomplishing these feats, it's still amazing how Lebron James and Kobe Bryant are held up in comparison to the all-time great, Michael Jordan. Jordan has them outdone in terms of MVP awards, scoring titles and NBA titles. Of course, both Lebron and Kobe are capable of catching him on the NBA titles, but as for scoring titles & MVP awards, that will be a tougher feat.

So he's achieving success but does he want to stay in Cleveland? According to Washington Post, Lebron is still committed to helping the 9-2 Cavs win. The New York Times has a recent article discussing the New York/New Jersey courting of Lebron as he's come to play in both arenas recently. It's no secret that both teams would love to add King James to their roster, especially the Nets who are partly-owned by rapper Jay-Z. But according to Sonny Vacaro, a former shoe executive who worked with James at ABCD camp, the Nets' move to Brooklyn could mean no James in NJ.

“LeBron’s relationship with Jay-Z will go on regardless,” Vaccaro said. “He’ll be an international celebrity in New York. If the Nets aren’t in Brooklyn, he’s not going over there for even $200 million. They’re putting pieces together. They’re doing the right things. They’re just living in the wrong building.”

The Nets’ move has been sidetracked by delays, the faltering economy and legal challenges to Atlantic Yards, the proposed development that would include the new arena. The latest litigation has pushed groundbreaking to next spring at the earliest, with a predicted opening in 2011.

The rumor mill continues, but for now Lebron's enjoying his success with the Cavs...

Vote in NBA.com's FanNight!

Tuesday November 4, 2008 marks an important voting day for NBA fans everywhere. Each Tuesday, fans can log on to NBA.com and vote for the game they most want to see on NBA TV the following Tuesday. Today there are a total of 8 games to choose from for your viewing pleasure.

Here's a look at this weeks candidates:

Denver AT Charlotte

Milwaukee AT Cleveland

Utah AT Philadelphia

Atlanta AT Chicago

L.A. Lakers AT Dallas

New York AT San Antonio

Detroit AT Sacramento

Minnesota AT Golden State

You'd have to believe Kobe and the Lakers have a strong chance to win this vote, but Lebron and the Cavs may have their fair share of votes as well. The Lakers and Dallas seem to be two top tier Western Conference teams that fans will want to see. Don't count out Chicago either which is the key home state of a presidential hopeful!

To cast your vote head over to NBA.com - NBA TV Pick a Game

2008-09 NBA Season Begins!

The 2008-09 season officially started Tuesday night earlier than usual. Three games were on the schedule, featuring King James, rookie phenom Greg Oden, Kobe Bryant's Lakers and the Champion Boston Celtics. Here's a look at quick recaps of each of the games from Tuesday night...

Boston Celtics vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

In the opening game of the 2008-09 season, Cleveland traveled to the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston for a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference finals. After raising their 17th Championship banners to the rafters, the Celtics took to the courts against King James and his Cavs. The Celtics were able to hold off the Cavs 90-85 for their first win of the new season. Paul Pierce scored 27 points and Lebron scored 22 in the losing effort. James missed on a driving layup with 41 seconds to go, as well as 2 free throws in the final 11 seconds.

Read more about the Celtics win and championship banner presentation.


Milwaukee Bucks vs. Chicago Bulls
In a game not televised nationally, the Bulls and Bucks clashed in a Central division battle. It was the return of coach Scott Skiles to Chicago as he brought his new team, the Bucks into the building. The #1 pick Derrick Rose had some highlight plays and some that he'd like to forget. Michael Redd went off for 30 points. Luckily, Luol Deng and Ben Gordon were able to score 21 and 18 respectively to lead Chicago to a 108-95 victory. The rookie Rose finished with 11 points and 9 assists as well as 4 turnovers.

LA Lakers vs Portland Trailblazers

In the night's final game, the Lakers spoiled the season debut of Greg Oden with the Blazers, stomping them by a final score of 95-76. Kobe had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists to lead his squad to a 1-0 start. Portland showed brief life in the 4th, but it wasn't enough to make a comeback. Oden was shutout, scoring 0 points in the game due to injury. Oden sprained his foot prior to the second half, and X-Rays were inconclusive. As of the 4th quarter, Oden was still in the team locker room at Staples Center. Other notable first game goose eggs were put up by the likes of Steve Nash, Yao Ming and belive it or not, Kobe Bryant.

Read more about the Bulls vs. Bucks here.

Notes: NBA TV is offering a free preview of its NBA TV channels through November 4th, so catch games there while you can!

There will be a new interactive component for games this season on Tuesday nights, where Fans can go to NBA.com and vote for which game they want to see on NBA TV! Next Tuesday's (Nov. 4) choices are Phoenix at New Jersey, Boston at Houston or Dallas at San Antonio.

Tomorrow night the Oklahoma City Thunder make their debut as the Milwaukee Bucks travel to OKC!