WAITING FOR BLAKE GRIFFIN

During the pre-season, expectations were high that the other team in Tinseltown, the woeful Los Angeles Clippers, will finally hit paydirt and crash into the post-season play come April of next year. With the number one pick over-all in the 2009 draft, the Clippers selected Blake Griffin of the Oklahoma Sooners. 

But as we take a look at the current standing of the Clips, Mike Dunleavy's wards continue to struggle in the Pacific Division with a disappointing 12-17 win-loss card. This can all be attributed to Griffin’s absence since the tip-off last October. 

Griffin suffered from a broken kneecap during the final pre-season game of the Clippers against the New Orleans Hornets. Actually, he was very impressive during the exhibition games wherein he submitted norms of 13.7 ppg and 8.1 rpg. He was hailed as “The Savior” for the Clippers, who are coming off from a mediocre 19-63 finish in the 2008-09 season.

An outstanding collegiate star, Griffin posted 22.7 ppg and an NCAA-best 14.4 rebounds per game last season for the Sooners. After the Clippers won the draft lottery and selected him, Griffin strained his right shoulder during a summer league game in July. The team brought him back cautiously, and Griffin said he was totally healthy in the preseason.

“Once I feel comfortable, I can get out onto the court.  That's definitely a goal. That's what we're looking for”, Griffin remarked when asked on when he should be able to play his first game for the Clippers.

Clipper fans are hoping for his return early next month and any further delay on his much-anticipated debut may come too late to turn things around for the Clippers this season.

FAMOUS NBA QUOTES (Part 2)

Herewith are more unforgettable quotes from the superstars of yesteryears and the present:

 "As far as playing, I didn't care who guarded me - red, yellow, black. I just didn't want a white guy guarding me, because it's disrespect to my game.” -- Larry Bird

 "As long as I play ball, I can get any woman I want.” -- Dennis Rodman

 "As long as they are medicated the right way with the asthma medicine they won't have any problems.” -- Dominique Wilkins

 "Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates.” -- Magic Johnson

 "Asthma research is a lot better and new medicines are always coming out to help young people.” -- Dominique Wilkins

 "At 49, I can say something I never would have said when I was a player, that I'm a better person because of my failures and disgraces.” -- Bill Walton

 "Back then every small town had a gym, and if itseated more than 2,000 then we'd be interested in playing in it.” -- Bob Cousy

 "Basketball is basketball.” -- Oscar Robertson

 "Basketball isn't as popular in Canada as it is in the US. Hockey is by far the most popular sport in Canada.” -- Steve Nash

 "Basketball, in America, is like a culture. It is like a foreigner learning a new language.” It is difficult to learn foreign languages and it will also be difficult for me to learn the culture for basketball here.” -- Yao Ming

 "Being a typical Pisces, I might have experienced mood shifts, but I don't remember any depression, or needing to do anything, or to have someone bring me out of being depressed.” -- Julius Erving

 "Being an All-Star is everything.” -- Allen Iverson

 "Being from Africa is the best thing that could have ever, ever happened to me. I cannot see it any other way. All of my fundamental principles that were instilled in me in my home, from my childhood, are still with me.” -- Hakeem Olajuwon

 "Being here feels like I'm out of prison. This is the right place, the right time, the right team.” -- Shaquille O'Neal

 "Being selected Most Improved was a special individual award because when I speak to young people I always try to tell them the importance about it's not where you start but where you end up.” -- Kevin Johnson

 "Besides P.E., geography was my best class in high school. I was in this gifted class when I was younger, and it was wicked!" -- Steve Nash

 "Bill Russell was my favorite player of all-time.” -- Bill Walton

 "Black culture is something I don't relate to much at all.” -- Dennis Rodman

 "Black people don't have an accurate idea of their history, which has been either suppressed or distorted.” -- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

 "Bob Brannum was my body guard on the court. He was 6'-6 and built like a bulldog.” -- Bob Cousy

 "But after that you don't see a lot of real good fundamental play. You see a showboat-type basketball which is almost parallel to street basketball.” -- Oscar Robertson

*****

From “Boyet’s NBA Corner”, a “MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!”

TURNING BACK THE HANDS OF TIME

It was one memorable night for the surprisingly struggling San Antonio Spurs. First, they whipped the Indiana Pacers, 100-99, to give longtime coach Greg Popovich his 700th career NBA win (all with the Spurs). Then Tim Duncan looked like he was just sprinkled with a newly-found youthful potion as he slammed in a dunk with 4.6 seconds left over the outstretched arms of Indiana bigman Roy Hibbert to score the decisive basket over the Pacers.

Duncan finished with 19 points and 16 rebounds as the Spurs came back from a 13-point deficit at the end of the 3rd canto to snatch the hard-earned victory. The Alamo outfit currently sits at the third spot of the Southwest Division (behind Dallas and Houston) with a 14-10 win-loss slate. “I wanted to try to take it to the glass and see what happens, and Hibbert made a very good defensive play,” Duncan said. “I saw the guy come from the corner and tried to stretch it out, and he still got a piece of it, and it just came right back to me. It was a little bit of luck.”

Hibbert was feeling down after the game wherein he thought the Pacers lost because of his poor defensive play against Duncan in the waning seconds of the game. “I blocked it and he got it right back,” Hibbert said. “I should have made a second effort to try and get another block but I was off-balance and he dunked it and finished it for his team.”

On the other hand, Popovich became only the 16th mentor in NBA history to reach 700 wins and is among seven active coaches to reach the milestone. He credited the win to Duncan, whom he says is chiefly responsible for most of them over the last 13 years. “As has been all season, Tim Duncan is our most consistent player,” Popovich said. “He’s been fantastic.”

The Spurs won despite shooting poorly from the stripes converting only 23 of 38 free throws.

The Popovich-Duncan tandem continues to shine in Texas and it will surprise no one to see them go deep again into the post-season play come April 2010.

*****

Herewith are the completed transactions covering the period December 1 to 17:

Thursday, December 17

Portland signed forward Anthony Tolliver.

Monday, December 14

Miami waived forward Shavlik Randolph.

Sunday, December 13

New York signed forward Jonathan Bender.

Wednesday, December 2

Philadelphia signed guard Allen Iverson.

Utah signed head coach Jerry Sloan to a contract extension.

Tuesday, December 1

New Jersey named Kiki Vandeweghe head coach and Del Harris assistant coach.

EXCLUSVE: Q/A WITH RP NBA EXPERTS (Part1)

Last weekend, I sent emails to three distinguished gentlemen, whom were all widely considered as the pioneers and institutions in the National Basketball Association (NBA) sportswriting industry in the Philippines. These were the persons who greatly influenced my addiction to the NBA. The men that I’ve grew up with following their much-read columns and articles, from my teen years to the present. These well-respected and honorable pinoy NBA scribes were no other than Quinito “The Dean” Henson, Atty. Ed Tolentino and Bert Ramirez.

A lot had already been said about “The Dean” in earlier write-ups in this blogsite and he will be the main topic in the second part of this two-part series.

Atty. Tolentino’s articles and sports columns can be seen and read at the Manila Times, Manila Sports Digest and NBA Tower Magazine (the only locally-produced NBA magazine), respectively. Besides the NBA, Tolentino also regularly writes about boxing, wrestling, tennis and the other US major league sports.

Together with Mr. Henson, Mr. Ramirez is one NBA writer I religiously followed in the 1980s (when internet was still an alien word). I regularly read his NBA column in the now-defunct Champ magazine. He is also one of the founder and pioneer of the popular internet social group “Celtic Philippines”. A devout Celtic follower, Ramirez still regularly contributes for NBA Tower Magazine.

I sent them five interesting NBA questions touching on current issues and one non-NBA question and as expected, their answers left me in awe and in total amazement.

My hats off to both Atty. Tolentino and Mr. Ramirez for lending their precious time with me.

BOYET’S NBA CORNER: Will Allen Iverson makes a difference in his second tour of duty with the Philadelphia 76ers?

ED TOLENTINO: Allen Iverson? AI is not OK. Point guards like Iverson who are in their dog years are already dispensable. The fact that Philadelphia offered him a non-guaranteed deal shows that Iverson has as much market value as those real estates in the debt-ridden Dubai. Give it a few more games and AI will act up again.

BERT RAMIREZ: Yes, Allen Iverson will make a difference in his second tour of duty with the Sixers, but only to the extent that the Sixers will allow him to. He's definitely going to provide another scoring option for them even if he doesn't start (he will, however), but will they allow him to significantly cut into the number of shots guys like Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young take? It will really depend on how AI will be used by coach Eddie Jordan, who certainly knows something about good offensive play. How much Iverson has left in the tank will also dictate how big a difference he will make.

BNC: Do you think LA Laker Ron Artest should be punished by the NBA for his admission of drinking alcohol during halftime of some of his games during his early years with the Chicago Bulls?

ET: The offense apparently happen years back. It's not like Artest took steroids during halftime. A lot of players who didn't drink actually end up playing like drunk sailors as early as the first quarter. Artest said he admitted it to set an example. I can only guess what the Lakers will do: assign a personnel who will make sure Artest remains sober at halftime.

BR: No, I don't think Ron Artest will be punished by the NBA for admitting he used to drink at halftime. That was so long ago and besides, the NBA favors the Lakers like a fair-haired boy is by his godfather.

BNC: What particular teams are you impress with during this early part of the 2009-10 NBA season?

ET: I like the Atlanta Hawks, Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat. The Hawks are gaining confidence each season and with a young roster, they should continue to soar towards cloud nine. The Suns are in a financial distress but they are back scorching the opposition on offense. However, the guess is that the players are still up for trades to the highest bidder. Amare may not even stay for the remainder of the season.. The Heat are getting some good games from Michael Beasley, who was suspect after that wild summer he had. Wade is still a spade for the team.

BR: I'm impressed with the Lakers and Magic, of course, with the way they have lived up to their billing, but it remains to be seen if they can keep it up given the fact that the Lakers have had a very easy schedule (the Suns, for one, were clobbered at the Staples Center, part of the 17 home games-in-the-first 21 sked of LA) and the Magic themselves have not had an extended road trip thus far.

BNC: Are the Atlanta Hawks for real? How about Erik Spoelstra and his Miami Heat?

ET: The Hawks are for real. They have been earning their spurs in recent years. Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson provide the young players veteran leadership. If Josh Smith can remain consistent with his blend of offense and defense (particularly blocking shots), they remain "playoff" potential. I think Wade still needs more help in Miami. He can't do it alone.

BR: The Hawks have grown somehow and should not be taken for granted, but I don't think they have arrived as a bonafide contender for the championship. They'll get into the second round and then eliminated, depending on their matchup. Erik Spoelstra and the Heat, meanwhile, will suffer a similar fate, maybe even fizzle out in the opening round, because they simply lack the depth that other contenders have. The Heat have yet to add around Dwyane Wade, that is, if they can keep him in Miami uniform after this season.

BNC: What do you think of NBA rookie phenom Brandon Jennings?

ET: Jennings, right now, is hands-down the rookie of the year. He is showing Milwaukee that he is truly worth the buck! He shoots, he drives, slices the middle, can even play both guard spots. Never hesitant to take the big shot.BJ's A-OK!

BR: Well, Brandon Jennings have been impressive, all right, particularly in his ability to play at the NBA level as a rookie, but he strikes me as a volume shooter the way Allen Iverson was during his younger years, which is not actually bad. But if you ask me if the Bucks can build around him and contend for a title, then they have a long way to go to be able to do that. Jennings has to learn how to involve his teammates more in the offense, which is the primary responsibility of a point guard, so the key here is for him to strike a balance between his shotmaking and his playmaking.

BNC (non-NBA question): Will the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) survive in the future?

ET: The ABL? Will it survive? I mean, how many basketball leagues are there already? The ABL has as much chance surviving as the Titanic rising again from the depths of the Atlantic.

BR: I have serious doubts if the ASEAN Basketball League will survive in the future if the league's prime movers do not look into its marketing aspects better. Right now, the league is surviving on the money being infused by its team owners, but how far can they sustain that if they don't get a consistent source of income for their teams? One can see the sparse attendance in games, which is not really encouraging, so a lot of marketing has to be done. The league's top brass, after all, has to realize that there's a limited market out there at this point given the tenuous economy that affects ASEAN countries in general, and what available pie there is still has to be divided among many other entertainment fares, including the different basketball leagues that exist in the sponsoring countries.

FAMOUS NBA QUOTES (Part 1)

Through the years, we were entertained no end by the exciting brand of play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). There were of countless memorable games that will live in us forever.

However, not only the games had made the NBA worth watching. There were a number of legendary and colorful players of yesteryears which we followed religiously on and off the court. We were awed not only by their on-court performances but off the court as well. We think deeply of whatever they say, whether basketball-related or not.

Beginning today, I am kicking off a series of collection on interesting and famous quotes of various NBA stars from yesterday and the present.

Herewith is the initial salvo:

• “A lot of late nights in the gym, a lot of early mornings, especially when your friends are going out, you’re going to the gym, those are the sacrifices that you have to make if you want to be an NBA player.” – JASON KIDD

• “A lot of times, you can get to a place that looks good on paper, but in actuality, it really is not as good as you think it is.” – KEVIN JOHNSON

• “A player dreams of being a superstar, but he doesn’t want people flocking all over him asking for an autograph.” – DENNIS RODMAN

• “A team will always appreciate a great individual if he’s willing to sacrifice for the group.” – KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR

• “A winner is some who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals.” – LARRY BIRD

• “Actually, Magic and the Lakers beat Philadelphia for Magic’s first NBA Championship.” – OSCAR ROBERTSON

• “Alexander Hamilton realized that warfare was part and parcel of human nature, and it’s something we had to prepare for.”- KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR

• “All kids need a little help, a little hope and somebody who believes in them.”- MAGIC JOHNSON

• “All of those things had been talked about, suggested, rumored, as a manager and as a member of the Knicks organization, I couldn’t allow myself to think that way or believe that.” – ISIAH THOMAS

• “All these boundaries-Africa, Asia, Malaysia, America- are set by men. But you don’t have to look at boundaries when you are looking at a man- at the character of a man. The question is: What do you stand for? Are you a follower or are you a leader?- HAKEEM OLAJUWON

• “And finally, I am proud of he most part , I spent my entire career with one team.”- KEVIN JOHNSON

• “And I really believe that. Asthma is NOT a disability.”- DOMINIQUE WILKINS

• “And I think one of the reasons why I’ve been able to maintain it for so long is I’ve never rested on it because I really don’t think I’m that good.”- KEVIN JOHNSON

• “And I want to do it the right way, like everybody else, not just a figurehead that gets a job because he is a famous basketball player. I want to really learn the business.” – SHAQUILLE O’NEAL

• “And then lastly, it’s always been a personal goal of mine to be able to walk away and not play just for the money and be at the top of my game.”- KEVIN JOHNSON

• “Anytime you play as a finalist it’s going to be a challenge.”- STEVE NASH

• “As a parent, I have a job as a role model to my children, and by extension, to other young people.”- KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR

• “As athletes, we’re used to reacting quickly. Here, it ‘come, stop, come, stop. There’s a lot of downtime. That’s the toughest part of the day.”- MICHAEL JORDAN

• “As brilliant an individual as Michael Jordan was, he was not successful until he got with a good team unit.”- KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR

• “As far as carrying the torch for the years to come, I don’t know. I just want to be the best basketball player I can be.”- KOBE BRYANT

*****

Herewith are the completed transactions for the period November 20 to 29:

Sunday, November 29

New Jersey fired head coach Lawrence Frank.

Thursday, November 26

Oklahoma City signed guard Mike Wilks.

Wednesday, November 25

Oklahoma City waived forward Ryan Bowen.

Friday, November 20

Golden State signed center Chris Hunter.

DIRK’S ON FIRE

I stay glued to the boob tube last night watching the encore telecast of the “Battle of Texas” rematch between the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs. Mark Cuban’s boys got back at the Alamo outfit, 99-94 in overtime to extend their winning streak to four games.

It was a pulsating victory for the Southwest Division leading Mavericks (9-3) but what caught my attention was the dazzling display of offensive wizardry in Dirk Nowitzki.

Nowitzki pumped in 32 big points in the second half and overtime to finish with 41 markers. His shooting prowess was awesome as he scored on almost all angles in which ESPN analyst Mark Jackson can’t help but praised the 7-foot scoring machine as “the greatest seven-foot shooter of all-time”.

Prior to the Spurs game, the 32-year old Wurzburg native scored on a buzzer-beater as he uncorked his patented fall-away jumper to whipped the Milwaukee Bucks, 115-113.

“With Josh out and Marion out, I’ve just got to keep going offensively and make things happen,” Nowitzki said after his 14th career game of 40 or more points.

Even his teammates spoke highly of the MVP-like efforts of the German bomber. “He’s playing great basketball and (I) think he’s one of the top guys right now in the league,” Mavs power forward Drew Gooden said. “He’s really playing at a high level. We need that because of all the injuries we have right now and he’s doing everything he can to carry this team.”

Nowitzki is currently posting norms of 27.5 ppg and 9.3 rpg in 12 outings so far with the Mavericks. With his present form, Nowitzki is sending a strong message to all 29 other teams to watch out for Dallas this season and from all indications, it looks like another MVP season is in the works for the sweet-shooting blonde bomber.

*****

Herewith are the completed NBA transactions covering the period November 11 to 16:

Monday, November 16

Memphis waived guard Allen Iverson.

Toronto signed forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu.

Golden State traded guard Acie Law and forward Stephen Jackson to Charlotte for guard Raja Bell and forward Vladimir Radmanovic.

Saturday, November 14

Memphis signed guard Jamaal Tinsley.

Friday, November 13

Houston waived forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu.

Thursday, November 12

New Orleans fired head coach Byron Scott and named Jeff Bower head coach and Tim Floyd assistant coach.

Toronto waived guard Quincy Douby.

Wednesday, November 11

Washington signed guard Earl Boykins and waived forward Paul Davis.

HARSH REALITY OF COACHING

It’s hard to believe how fast Mike D’Antoni’s free fall from being an elite NBA coach to being a prime candidate in the chopping board this early in the season. The New York Knicks had only won once in eight games and everyone is pointing to D’Antoni as the main culprit for the woeful start.

It’s not too long ago when pundits kept on praising D’Antoni and the Phoenix Suns for it’s revolutionized run-and-gun game which resulted into four winning seasons out of five campaigns D’Antoni spent in the Desert City. He was well acknowledged as the man who turned around the career of Steve Nash with the Canadian extraordinary point guard bagging back-to-back Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards under his watch.

But there seems to be an extreme contrast during his days with the Suns before and the now, the Knicks. With Phoenix, he had a great team anchored on Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa. While with the Knicks, he had to settle for journeymen and mediocre players like Larry Hughes, Nate Robinson, Al Harrington, David Lee and Danilo Gallinari among others.

When D’Antoni bolted out of the Suns to join the Gotham City outfit, he was welcome and seen in the Apple City as “the savior” of the disgruntled franchise coming off from a erratic leadership courtesy of erstwhile mentor Isiah Thomas. But just like his predecessors in the Knicks camp which included the legendary Larry Brown, his initial year was a big bust finishing off with a disappointing 32-50 win-loss slate. And as expected, D’Antoni’s coaching style was widely-criticized by the media. He is now enduring heavy pressure from the Knicks management and fans to finally deliver in his second season and if not, it’s gonna be goodbye time in New York for the 2004-05 NBA coach of the year.

D'Antoni’s current situation just proves that coaching life in the NBA is a dog-eats-dog world and is far from being considered as a stable job. Today, you are praise in high heavens and tomorrow, you are a goner.

IN THE HEAT OF THE ACTION

The magic of Fil-Am head coach Erik Spoelstra is up in the air this early in the 2009-10 NBA season. So far, his Miami Heat had posted a 4-1 win-loss slate to lead the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference.

The Heat started the new season with impressive wins over the New York Knicks (115-93), Indiana Pacers (96-83), Chicago Bulls (95-87) and Washington Wizards (93-89). Their only loss came at the hands of the visiting Phoenix Suns (104-96). It seems defense is the team’s passport for possibly going deep in the playoffs come April next year. Minus the losing game against the Suns, they held their opponents to below the century mark in four victorious games.

Spoelstra has also done a good job in revitalizing sophomore forward Michael Beasly, who had a trouble-filled summer. Beasly is currently averaging 13.0 ppg and 6.2 rpg. Resident superstar Dwyane Wade continues to lead the offensive game of the Heat with 25.2 ppg and 4.8 apg. Also worth mentioning are the current forms of comebacking center Jermaine O’Neal, who missed 55 games last season due to various injuries, and utility man Udonis Haslem. So far O’Neal had submitted norms of 14.0 ppg and 8.0 rpg while Spoelstra is all praises for Haslem, the youthful mentor taken by the selflessness of the veteran power forward. Spoelstra speaks highly of the hardworking 6-8 hometown native of Miami:

"There's probably a lot of coaches and organizations out there that would like to take a starter and put him on the bench, for various reasons, to help with the rotation, to help solidify the second unit. There's few players that actually can do that or would be willing to do that, or would be willing to sacrifice for the better of the teams.

A lot of players will say that and it's an empty statement. They'll say, 'I'll do whatever it takes to win.' You say, 'OK, what are your conditions?' And you find out pretty quickly what somebody's conditions are. It really shows the kind of character that Udonis is, that he backs up what he's saying, that he is about the team. There is a purity about him."

It looks like the Heat is ready to pose serious challenge to their state-rivals Orlando Magic as the flagship squad in the Sunny State of Florida and maybe, just maybe, a stumbling block in the Eastern Conference for the retooled Boston Celtics in their quest to reclaim the NBA diadem next June.

*****

Herewith are the completed transactions covering the period October 26 to November 5, 2009:

Thursday, November 5

Memphis waived forward Trey Gilder.

Sacramento waived forward Desmond Mason.

Minnesota named Darrick Martin assistant director of player development.

Wednesday, November 4

Sacramento signed forward Ime Udoka.

Monday, November 2

Minnesota exercised the contract option on forward Corey Brewer and center Kevin Love through 2010-11.

Saturday, October 31

Indiana exercised the contract options on guard Brandon Rush and center Roy Hibbert through 2010-11.

Denver signed forward Renaldo Balkman to a contract extension and exercised the contract option on guard Arron Afflalo through 2010-11.

Friday, October 30

Houston exercised the contract option on guard Aaron Brooks through 2010-11.

Utah exercised the contract options on center Kosta Koufos through 2010-11.

Washington exercised the contract options on guard Nick Young and center JaVale McGee through 2010-11.

Thursday, October 29

New Jersey exercised the contract options on guard Courtney Lee, forward Yi Jianlian and center Brook Lopez through 2010-11.

Toronto exercised the contract option on guard Marco Belinelli through 2010-11.

Memphis exercised the contract options on guards Mike Conley and OJ Mayo and forward Darrell Arthur through 2010-11.

Charlotte exercised the contract option on center Alexis Ajinca through 2010-11.

Wednesday, October 28

Phoenix exercised the contract options on forward Jared Dudley and center Robin Lopez through 2010-11.

Orlando waived forward Linton Johnson.

Chicago waived forward Derrick Byars.

San Antonio exercised the contract option on guard George Hill through 2010-11.

Oklahoma City signed guard Thabo Sefolosha to a contract extension.

Tuesday, October 27

Orlando exercised the contract option on forward Ryan Anderson through 2010-11.

Monday, October 26

Chicago exercised the contract options on guard Derrick Rose and forward Joakim Noah through 2010-11.

Cleveland exercised the contract option on forward JJ Hickson through 2010-11.

New Orleans exercised the contract option on forward Julian Wright through 2010-11.

Phoenix signed center Jarron Collins.

Detroit waived forward Deron Washington.

Milwaukee waived forward Walter Sharpe.

MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL: WHO WILL BE THE NBA CHAMPION OF THEM ALL?

It’s almost gametime in the 2009-10 NBA season and as expected, lots of pundits are divided in their forecast or prediction on which team will claim the most-prestigious pro cage league diadem in the universe, the Larry O’Brien trophy.

This corner browse over the following favorite hoop sites and look upon on what their respective crystal balls said:

Sports Illustrated (SI.com)

- “The Celtics will beat the Lakers in the NBA Finals”

"It isn't easy to pick between the five title contenders -- the defending champion Lakers, Celtics, Cavaliers, Spurs and Magic (that being the hierarchy as things look today) all made big moves to improve over the summer, and any one of them would be a credible choice to win in June.

I'm picking the Celtics because they should be the best defensive team in the league based on the return of Kevin Garnett, the arrival of Rasheed Wallace, the continuing improvement of Rajon Rondo -- who could emerge as the top defensive point guard this season -- and the Tom Thibodeau schemes that make the most of Kendrick Perkins, Paul Pierce, Marquis Daniels and others.

This Celtics team has the capacity to be deeper and more reliable than the champion of two years ago. Wallace should be an upgrade over James Posey and the same should apply to Daniels over Tony Allen, who was third on the team in minutes off the bench two years ago. They still have sniper Eddie House and a useful second big man in reserve in Glen Davis, who proved in the playoffs last year that he can hit big shots -- a luxury from your ninth man. Unlike last season, the Celtics also have two expiring contracts belonging to Allen and Brian Scalabrine that could be dealt in January or February for a backup point guard or additional length in the frontcourt.

As for the Lakers, I'm not one of those who believes that Ron Artest will ruin them. On the contrary: He's an upgrade over Trevor Ariza, Phil Jackson will strike a constructive relationship with him and he's joining a championship team that can live with his unique personality.

Artest will improve the Lakers defensively at small forward, but the Celtics will be stronger defensively overall, enabling them to control tempo and overcome the Lakers' likely home-court advantage. By picking Boston to win the title, I'm predicting that the Celtics' defense will be the dominant story in the league -- not necessarily in the first month but rather as the year wears on. Age may limit them during the regular season as Doc Rivers sacrifices a win here and there while resting Ray Allen, Wallace and Garnett (all 33 or older), but let's assume they've been well paced and they're healthy going into the playoffs. By then, their age and experience should rally them as they realize this may be their final chance at a title together."

USA TODAY (www.usatoday.com)

“Cleveland Cavaliers over the LA Lakers”

Hoops World (www.hoopsworld.com)

“The Cleveland Cavaliers will beat the San Antonio Spurs”

"The Cleveland Cavaliers will win the NBA title in 2010. They will face the San Antonio Spurs in that championship round, robbing the networks yet again of their dream Kobe-LeBron NBA Finals match-up."

NBA.COM (www.nba.com)

GM SURVEY RESULTS

“The Los Angeles Lakers to repeat, this time over arch-rivals Boston Celtics”

On paper, it seems the Cleveland Cavaliers are the faves to win it all this year mainly because of the acquisition of “the diesel” Shaquille O’Neal, who will team up with “the king” himself, LeBron James. But in reality the effectiveness of that tandem remains to be seen. O’Neal is already in the twilight of his checkered NBA career and likewise is injury-prone the past few years.

And yes, my crystal ball is pointing east this time. No not the Cavaliers but the retooled Boston Celtics. The entry of Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels plus the return of Kevin Garnett from sickbay will definitely boost the chances of the Beantown squad of netting their second title in the last three years.

I could be wrong but by all indications, my prediction will most likely happen. Color it GREEN and I’m outta here!

*****

Hereith are the completed transactions covering the period October 8 to 25, 2009:

Sunday, October 25

Los Angeles Lakers waived forward Tonny Gaffney.

Sacramento exercised the contract options forwards Jason Thompson and Donté Greene and center Spencer Hawes through 2010-11.

Saturday, October 24

New Orleans waived guard Larry Owens and center Earl Barron.

Friday, October 23

New York exercised the contract options on forwards Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari through 2010-11.

Minnesota waived guard Antonio Daniels.

Houston waived guard Brent Barry.

Miami waived guard John Lucas.

Oklahoma City waived forward Mike Harris and exercised the contract options on guard Russell Westbrook and forwards Jeff Green, Kevin Durant and DJ White through 2010-11.

Boston named Tyronn Lue director of basketball development.

Indiana fired Director of Player Personnel Mel Daniels.

Thursday, October 22

Portland signed forward LaMarcus Aldridge to a contract extension and waived forward Ime Udoka and center Jarron Collins.

Cleveland waived guards Andre Barrett and Russell Robinson and center Darryl Watkins.

Chicago waived forward Chris Richard.

Boston waived forward Mike Sweetney.

Charlotte waived guards Dontell Jefferson and Antonio Anderson.

Dallas waived center Jake Voskuhl.

Memphis waived guard Mike Taylor.

New Jersey waived guard Will Blalock and forwards Bennet Davis and Brian Hamilton.

New York waived guard Joe Crawford and center Chris Hunter.

Oklahoma City waived forward Michael Ruffin.

Philadelphia exercised the contract options on forwards Thaddeus Young, Marreese Speights and Jason Smith and through 2010-11.

San Antonio waived guard Curtis Jerrells.

Washington waived guard Vincent Grier.

Utah waived guard Paul Harris and forward Ronald Dupree.

Wednesday, October 21

Atlanta waived guard Mario West and centers Garret Siler and Courtney Sims.

Denver waived guard Dontaye Draper, forward James White and center Kurt Looby.

Detroit waived forward Maceo Baston.

Golden State waived forward Shaun Pruitt.

Houston waived guards Romel Beck and Garrett Temple.

Los Angeles Lakers waived guard Thomas Kelati.

Minnesota waived center Jared Reiner.

Oklahoma City waived guard Tre Kelley.

Orlando waived guards Morris Almond.

Philadelphia waived guard Dionte Christmas and forward Brandon Bowman.

Sacramento waived guard Lanny Smith and forward Melvin Ely.

Utah waived forwards Alexander Johnson and Spencer Nelson and center Goran Suton.

Tuesday, October 20

Phoenix waived guard Dan Dickau and forward Carlos Powell.

Dallas traded forward Nathan Jawai and cash to Minnesota for a 2012 conditional second-round pick.

Atlanta waived guards Mike Wilks and Juan Dixon.

Miami waived forward Anthony Tolliver and exercised the contract options on guard Daequan Cook and forward Michael Beasley through 2010-11.

Monday, October 19

Cleveland waived forward Rob Kurz and center Luke Nevill.

Indiana waived forwards Lawrence Roberts, Demetris Nichols and Rod Benson.

Minnesota waived guards Mustafa Shakur and Devin Green.

Los Angeles Clippers waived guards Jerel McNeal and Anthony Roberson.

Friday, October 16

Portland signed guard Patrick Mills and exercised the contract options on guards Rudy Fernandez and Jerryd Bayless, forward Nicolas Batum and center Greg Oden through 2010-11.

Center Dwayne Jones signed with Red Star (Serbia).

Thursday, October 15

Guard Damon Jones signed with Napoli (Italy).

Wednesday, October 14

Golden State exercised the contract options on forwards Brandan Wright and Anthony Randolph through 2010-11.

Tuesday, October 13

Los Angeles Clippers exercised the contract options on guard Eric Gordon and forward Al Thornton through 2010-11.

San Antonio waived center Dwayne Jones.

Atlanta waived guards Aaron Miles and Frank Robinson.

Monday, October 12

Miami signed guard Carlos Arroyo.

Philadelphia waived guard Sean Singletary and forward Stromile Swift.

Saturday, October 10

Los Angeles Lakers waived forwards Michael Fey, Mickael Gelabale and David Monds.

Friday, October 9

Atlanta exercised the contract option on forward Al Horford through 2010-11.

Los Angeles Clippers waived forward Taj Gray.

Miami waived forwards Alade Aminu and Andre Brown.

Thursday, October 8

Memphis waived guard Thomas Gardner.

SINNER OR SAINT

Lately, disgruntled erstwhile Golden State Warriors Captain Stephen Jackson is hugging the NBA limelight with his controversial behavior. During the summer, “Captain Jack” publicly announced that wanted out of the Bay Area outfit and said he is tired of the losing attitude and image of the team.

Then came the recent pre-season game against the Los Angeles Lakers wherein he committed five fouls and a technical in ten minutes of play in the opening period then left the team in disgust straight to the lockers and never returned in the said ballgame. After serving his two-game suspension from the team, Jackson relinquished his team captaincy in a meeting with Warriors coach Don Nelson and general manager Larry Riley. According to reports, the Warriors had been busy since the off-season trying to shop Jackson around but the problem is there is a very low sign of interest coming the rest of the league.

To his credit, Jacko is one of the main men of the Warriors during their amazing run in the 2007 playoffs wherein they shocked the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the first round. Curiously, Jackson seems happy with the team when he signed a contract extension last year.

Let’s dig deeper into this Jackson scenario as we take a look into some interesting quotes from the perspective of a troubled man.

1. On Relinquishing the Team Captaincy:

“Don't try to dig into it, that's just how I feel and I don't want to be a role model. ... Being captain was overrated to me, anyway. You don't do anything but go out before the game and talk to the refs. I don't want to do that, anyway.”

2. On his two-game suspension imposed by Coach Nelson:

"Any time somebody takes $150,000 from me, of course it's going to change. If my mom took some money from me I'd still love her to death but I'd still be upset about it. And he's not my mom. This ain't the first time I lost money. I lost $3 million on the fight (2004 Pacers-Pistons brawl). I didn't agree with (the latest suspension). Anybody who'd seen the game saw how I got handled out there. I got treated wrong, no question."

3. On possibilities that the Warriors may opt to sit him out the rest of the 2009-10 season or a contract buyout :

"If they want to send me home and pay me, I'm fine with that. It has to be right. I doubt if they'd do that (contract buyout)."

4. On Kobe Bryant during their pre-season game:

"Basically, to beat a dead horse, (Bryant) was just playing dirty. He was getting favoritism out there. I'm not saying the refs were cheating. I'm not saying that at all. I think he was getting away with stuff that I couldn't get away with. And I didn't think it was fair. So I reacted on it. And if it happens again, I'm going to react the same way.

I'm not going to bow down. I'm not a fan of Kobe. I'm not somebody who looks up to him. I'm a grown man myself. So when I go out there and play the game, I play the game. I feel like I'm just as good as him. I might not get the publicity or notoriety he gets, but I feel like I can play with anybody in the NBA any given night.

"I think everybody should feel like that. Everybody should be a competitor and I don't back down from anybody. I've never been like that and I'm not going to start today. ... It ain't envy. I ain't jealous of anybody. At the end of the day I'm still blessed to be in this game, taking care of my family. I think it's just the fact that what's fair is fair and I want to be treated fair as a man. Just like anybody else would."

5. On his Warrior teammates during the Laker game:

"Nobody reacted but me so the team didn't have a reaction. It was only me standing up for myself. I don't think anybody else stood up for me. But if the shoe was on the other foot, I would have stood up for somebody on my team. And they didn't do the same for me."

Jackson should make up his mind now or else he may end up ala “starbury” a year ago.

A WEEKEND TO REMEMBER

I decided to stay at home most of the past weekend if not all in anticipation of a cage fiesta on the boob tube.

First on hand last Saturday morning was the NBA pre-season game featuring the 2008 NBA champs Boston Celtics going up against the New York Knicks at the TD Banknorth Garden. The game was covered live by Basketball TV (BTV). It’s nice to see Kevin Garnett back in the groove for the Beantown outfit after missing the whole of the 2009 NBA playoffs due to injury. The Celtics went on to spank the Knicks, 96-82.

At exactly 6 pm, I immediately tuned in to ESPN Asia for the inaugural game of the fledgling Asean Basketball League (ABL). It was a different kind of excitement the ABL had brought in as it became the first-ever pro regional cage loop in this side of the globe. The Philippine Patriots, with two hardworking imports in Brandon Powell and former PBA reinforcement Jason Dixon plus a slew of ex-PBA stalwarts in Rob Wainwright, Christian Coronel, Frioilan Baguion, Warren Ibanez and Mark Andaya, brought down host Satria Muda Britama of Indonesia, 76-69. It was a very physical opening game played before a jampacked Britama Stadium.

Sunday morning at 9:30 am, BTV aired live the 2009 NBA Outdoor game at the Indian Wells Tennis Center in a match-up of two exciting run-and-gun teams in the Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns. The game was played before a beautiful weather unlike last year’s edition wherein both the Suns and the Denver Nuggets almost did not play the second half due to severe windy condition. The Warriors, despite internal team problems initiated by perennial bad boy Stephen Jackson, went on to subdued Steve Nash and the Suns, 104-101.

Immediately right after the Warriors-Suns tiff, I switched channels to Starsports Asia as the NBA China game between Denver Nuggets and the Indiana Pacers is set to start at 12 high noon. The Nuggets took a sweet revenge on the Pacers after losing their NBA Taiwan game last Thursday, 128-112.

After the NBA China game, I took a nap for two hours and set my alarm clock at 4 pm in time for the ABL debut of the Singapore Slingers and the Brunei Barracudas over at ESPN Asia. The Slingers fully took advantage of their homecourt as they outplayed the visiting Barracudas, 87-69. The Barracudas paraded four ex-PBA personnel in head coach Bong Ramos and local pro free agents Leo Avenido, Don Camaso and Kiko Adriano. The Slingers, led by two high-flying imports in Michael LeBlanc and Kyle Jeffers, displayed an awesome kind of game as they led the Barracudas from start to finish. It will be a humdinger of a game next Sunday as the Patriots visit the Slingers in a battle of opening day winners.

Lastly at around 6:30 in the evening, CS/9 brought in live the 35th season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) which finally kicked off with a lone game between the Purefoods Hotdogs and the Burger King Whoppers at the Araneta Coliseum. The Hotdogs, featuring a revamped line-up, crushed the Whoppers, 93-80. The game saw the debut of this year's number one draft pick over-all Japeth Aguilar in the pros as he suited up for the Whoppers. But according to latest reports, that game will be the first and last of Aguilar with Burger King as he was traded to Talk N Text right after the said ballgame. His transfer to the Manny Pangilinan-owned franchise will pave the way for his stint with the National developmental team Smart Gilas.

All in all, it was a knockout weekend not only for me but for sure, to a million more basketball junkies. And for most of us, basketball is not just a sport but a religion as well.

CAGE MAGAZINES

Kudos to Emerald Headway especially to Miss Joanna Policarpio as the much-awaited ATHLON SPORTS Pro Basketball NBA 2009-10 preview magazine had finally been delivered to my office this morning. And as usual, what sweetens the pot was the additional two complimentary magazines in which I picked the July 2009 issue of SLAM with a face-off cover of LeBron James and Kobe Bryant and July/August issue of NBA HOOP with KB24 on the cover. By the way, I got the ATHLON issue at P 799.00.

It has been a yearly tradition for me to buy various NBA preview magazines prior to the opening of each new season. I started securing it since 1980 and my first two NBA annuals are the GAME PLAN and Petersen 1980-81 previews which I still safely kept in my library at home.

Through the years, I was able to collect various NBA preview magazines such as Street and Smith, The Sporting News, CBS SPORTS.COM, Basketball Digest and Tower Sports, which is the only locally-produced NBA magazine in the country. The monthly issues of SLAM and NBA HOOP keep me company during the course of an ongoing NBA season.

For me, everything now is all set for the coming 2009-10 NBA season. Let the games begin.

*****

My warmest regards and many thanks to my godfather, Ninong Quinito (Henson) for handing me over also this morning my usual pasalubongs from his trip abroad. Mr. Henson is fresh from his trip in Milan, Italy, where he covered the Philippines campaign in the World Amateur Boxing Championships.

This time I got three European basketball magazines namely SB-Super Basket from Italy (September 8-14/09 issue), Gigantes Teledeporte Del Basket from Spain (September 22-28/09 issue) and the Spanish Basket Life with an all-NBA special issue (Issue No. 19).

It’s really a blast, Ninong Q!

*****

Do not fail to catch the opening day of the newest pro basketball league in the Southeast Asian region, the Asean Basketball League, tomorrow, at 6:00 PM over ESPN with our very own Philippine Patriots visiting the Satria Muda BritAma at the Britama Arena in Jakarta, Indonesia. On Sunday, it will be the Brunei Barracudas at Singapore Slingers at 4:00 PM at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

*****

Herewith are the completed NBA transactions covering the period September 29 to October 7:

Wednesday, October 7

New York waived guards Gabe Pruitt, Ron Howard and Sun Yue and forward Warren Carter.

Tuesday, October 6

Charlotte exercised the contract option on guard DJ Augustin through 2010-11.

Minnesota waived guards Jack McClinton and Alonzo Gee.

Monday, October 5

Philadelphia waived forward Rashad Jones-Jennings.

Denver waived forward Keith Brumbaugh.

Phoenix waived forward Raymond Sykes.

Friday, October 2

Chicago waived guard Curtis Stinson and center Steven Hill.

Milwaukee waived guards Dominic James and Mark Tyndale and forward Marcus Hubbard.

Center Cheikh Samb signed with Real Madrid (Spain).

Wednesday, September 30

Los Angeles Lakers signed guard Thomas Kelati.

Oklahoma City signed guard Tre Kelley, forwards Mike Harris and Michael Ruffin and re-signed forward Ryan Bowen.

Sacramento signed center Melvin Ely.

Phoenix signed guards Dan Dickau and forwards Raymond Sykes and Carlos Powell.

Philadelphia signed forward Rashad Jones-Jennings.

Tuesday, September 29

Miami signed guard John Lucas and forwards Alade Aminu, Andre Brown, Shavlik Randolph and Anthony Tolliver.

Atlanta re-signed guard Mario West and forward Othello Hunter and signed guards Juan Dixon, Mike Wilks, Aaron Miles and Frank Robinson and centers Garret Siler and Courtney Sims.

SMART GILAS FLYING HIGH; JAPETH CASE JUSTIFIED

For the meantime, let’s take a quick timeout from the NBA world.

*****

The scheduled charity game for typhoon “Ondoy” victims last night at the Araneta Coliseum has all the makings of a PBA Powerade Team Pilipinas carnage of the inexperience and youthful Smart Gilas National Developmental squad. Everything seems to be well-planned and orchestrated by the PBA itself to ensure a victory by their highly-paid stars and likewise to justify all the statements made by Powerade coach Yeng Guiao that the pro league is still the best choice for National cage program and not a bunch of no-names. These are as follows:

1. The game will be played according to PBA rules;
2. The assigned game officials are PBA referees;
3. The game will be played at the PBA homecourt, the big dome; and
4. The game will be played before thousands of PBA fans.

In short, there are a lot in stake and it’s more than just a charity game. Guiao also wants to prove that there is no need to tap the services of a foreign mentor for the National developmental program as he was against the Samahang Basketbolista ng Pilipinas (SBP) hiring of the so-called “miracle worker” Rajko Toroman of Serbia from the very beginning.

But the SBP and Toroman opted to keep silent and just let the issue be settled once and for all in the basketball floor. And the result is a 98-69 resounding victory by Smart Gilas. Toroman, who set the tone for Iran’s ascension as Asian champions, clearly had the last laugh. The game proved two things, Toroman’s no-nonsense system and Guiao’s poor selection of National players. After last night’s game the likes of CJ Giles, Japeth Aguilar, Andy Barroca, JV Casio, Mac Baracael, Dylan Ababou, Jason Ballesteros and Chris Tiu had become overnight household names.

We wish the best for SBP on their three-year Smart Gilas program and we also hope and pray that coach Toroman will be able to qualify the country into the 2012 London Olympics via the 2011 FIBA Asia qualifiers. For the PBA, well, the most logical thing to do right now is disband immediately the Powerade Team Pilipinas and leave the National cage program solely at the hands of SBP.

And lastly to coach Yeng, just keep your big mouth shut. Enough said.

BOGUT IS NO BOGUS

Nobody is paying attention to the Milwaukee Bucks and that’s the way Andrew Bogut likes it. After four years in the league, the seven-foot Aussie is loving the underdog tag of the Brew City this coming season. No one can blame the cage pundits for ignoring the Bucks in the pre-season rankings as Milwaukee is coming off a last-place finish in the Central Division after posting a 34-48 win-loss mark and 32 games behind Division winners Cleveland last season.

Bogut, the top over-all pick of the 2005 draft out of Utah, is coming off an injury-laden campaign with the Bucks in which he posted norms of 11.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg and 2.0 apg in only 36 games. He is coming to training camp fully-recovered from his back injury and is now in top condition looking forward to a better over-all season for himself and his team this 2009-10 season.

Bogut, who will be turning 25 this coming November, was the subject of a recent lengthy one-on-one interview conducted by Raul Barrigon of hoopshype.com. Bogut shared his thoughts on so many things about his injury, the Bucks without Charlie Villanueva and Richard Jefferson, his co-international Milwaukee teammates, on rookie Brandon Jennings, the Australian National team and life after the NBA.

Wolves signed Ramon Sessions. Your take?

Andrew Bogut: He’s got a great contract in Minnesota. We wish him all the best, but I think with the point guards we have in our roster now, it would be tough to find minutes for all four with a fourth point guard.

Well, the Bucks can still match the offer.

AB: We have time to match but I don’t see it, honestly. Well you never know, we could make a trade. I’m not saying we are going to do that, but you never know in the NBA.

Everybody asks about your back.

AB: It’s looking good. Now I’m doing a lot of weight training, a lot of running… Some basketball work. Once the contact starts we’ll se how it goes.

How was the experience of having trainer Marc Boff in Australia along with strength and conditioning coach Jeff Macy?

AB: They made sure I was doing the right things. It was just more of making sure that I’m working out and not just sitting on the beach drinking beer (laughs).

Were you a good tourist guide?

AB: Of course, we went to an Australian football game, they saw the kangaroos and stuff like that.

In order to not get injured in the back again, have you been told to slim down, bulk up, stay put…?

AB: Weight will not be an issue for me. I’ve never really been overweight, it was just more a matter of getting my core, my glutes, my hips, getting evertything around my back strong as I can so my back doesn’t take as much pounding. Basically, the key message is to get everything strong around my back.

Are you going to do special exercises to protect your back once you start playing again?

AB: I’m doing it now: a lot of Pilates , a lot of abs…

How do you feel going into the season without Richard Jefferson, Charlie Villanueva and possibly Ramon Sessions?

AB: I can say that I was prepared for that. When we had a meeting at the end of the season John Hammond let me know that we were going to make some changes. “Some might shock you, some might not”, he said. So it wasn’t like the season before. I think we’re just trying to create some financial stability with the economy the way it is and the salary cap being lowered. We are trying to free up some room for the future. We had a team that was pretty good on paper last year but still we couldn’t achieve a playoff run.

You said in that interview “Didn’t speak to anybody within the Bucks, I read it on HoopsHype, actually, believe it or not, with my morning coffee before practice one day.”

AB: The problem was that I was in Australia, so I’m guessing they tried to call me, the time difference, the phone numbers… It wasn’t like I was in Milwaukee where they could just reach out and give me a phone call… I was in Beijing at the Olympics, I think. They only had the e-mail to find me so I wasn’t disappointed by it or anything, it was more that I didn’t expect the Yi trade after only one season.

Do you expect to be more in touch with GM John Hammond about the options of adding new pieces to the roster in order to improve the team?

AB: I was in town during the summer when they traded Richard Jefferson and John called me before it got announced. So he’s been pretty good about letting me know about some decisions, but at the same time you don’t want to let everybody know everything because sometimes certain trades don’t go through for whatever reason.

Let’s move on and talk about the new guys. Now there’s more international flavor in Milwaukee. Do you like it?

AB: Yeah, I think it’s good for me, I’m an international player too. Delfino is a winner, he knows how to play the game and he will bring some toughness to our team. Ukic obviously hasn’t had the opportunity to play too much in Toronto so I know he’s very eager to prove himself in Milwaukee. He’s a pretty good friend of mine. I played with Ilyasova my first two years; when he came to the NBA he was very young, very skinny. I heard he’s improved a lot and I know his dream was to be back; his wife is actually from Milwaukee. And we already have Elson, Gadzuric and Mbah a Moute.

What about Brandon Jennings?

AB: I’ve been working out with him the whole week. He’s a very good ballhandler, very smart point guard and very athletic. He brings energy everyday but obviously he’s young. He’s gotta have good times and bad times in his rookie year, but I think he’s going to be a great player in the NBA.

This season your new five-year contract kicks in. Milwaukee is clearly counting on you to be the leader of this team.

AB: I tried to make that adjustment last year but I got injured. I’m definitely ready to become more vocal, offensively, defensively, in the locker room. The team has invested a lot into me so I’ll try to step up in every way, not just points and rebounds. I need to lead by example on and off the floor .

But the feeling out there is that what it really counts is getting better stats.

AB: With all these fantasy basketball leagues, a lot of people are just worried about stats. It would be nice to average 20 points and 10 rebounds, but I’d much rather make the playoffs and one day go for the championship if that means averaging five points. I would be happy to do that. In saying that, the team wants me to be better offensively and defensively. I definitely need to get better in those aspects but like I said, if I’m averaging 15 points and 5 rebounds and we are winning games it doesn’t really matter.

Have you talked with Coach Skiles about your role in this team next season?

AB: The coaching staff want me to have the confidence of getting the ball inside and making quick decisions. Last year a lot of the times I was indecisive whether I was shooting or passing. I was kind of waiting to see what the defense was gonna do before I did it. Now I have to be more aggressive and get to the free-throw line, knock down free-throws and just be more confident.

You’re right now at 59.3 percent in free-throw shooting.

AB: It’s one area you need to improve every year. It’s just a matter of confidence. My technique is not too bad, I just have to stay in the gym and shoot as many as I can, which I have been doing the last couple of weeks. I’d definitely like to improve my percentage, no doubt.

How are the Bucks going to play this season?

AB: I think we’ll run. With a kid like Jennings you’d be crazy trying to play half-court. He’s one of the quickest point guards I’ve ever seen with the ball. He can find the open man. We’ll try to push the ball offensively and defensively we’ll be definitely be a half-court team. We’ll try to get stops to win games. We’ll be a defense-first team. That’s Scott Skiles’ system and that won’t change.

A total of 53 panelists from across ESPN have predicted the Bucks to be second to last in the East.

AB: We like it. We like where they picked us. I think it’s better for us and our franchise to have lower expectations coming in because nobody thinks we can do anything and if we can do something it’ll be a surprise. We have a lot of new players. I don’t think we have a starting five that… You know, most teams on paper you could kind of figure out whose the starting five is gonna be. With us, there’s a lot of question marks on who’s gonna start, who’s gonna play minutes, who’s not gonna play.

So do you expect a killing preseason?

AB: Yes, I do. We’ll try to have the whole team here on Monday, ready to work out on Tuesday and get started a bit earlier. Rather than having a training camp of conditioning, we’d rather learn how to play with each other on the floor and do all the conditioning before it ends. Hopefully all the guys will be here by Tuesday and start working out.

How would you define your NBA career after four years?

AB: Probably average because there’s a lot room for improvement. I had a pretty good third year but we didn’t win a lot of basketball games so for me that was a failure. I struggled earlier in the season last year and really started to play well towards December and January and then I got hurt. Average would be the right statement.

You said while you’re playing in the NBA, everyone wants a piece of you. At the same time, you can get a piece of everyone else. What have you learned from journalists?

AB: You’re just doing your job. You tell stories and that’s just the way it goes. When you are worried about what people say as far as (what) fans or people write about you… You know, make it in a positive way. If you get any talk about in a negative way, you’re just being talked about – so it’s a good thing.

According to Yahoo! Sports, the NBA is preparing Twitter guidelines for the players. You are one of those players that are into this new way of getting in touch with the fans. What do you think about it?

AB: I haven’t heard anything yet, maybe once the season starts they let us know, but it’s gonna be very hard to the NBA to tell people what to do with their lives outside of basketball. It’s pretty hard for the NBA to say “You can do this, you can’t do that”… I think it’s gonna be very very tricky. But once you’re on the court at a practice site, I definitely agree you shouldn’t be posting twitters or facebook. Once you finish a game if you write “We had a good win” or “We should have played better” or whatever, I think that’s fair enough. But at halftime… I definitely agree with that. I’m a professional and you should do that on your own time.

It is said that maybe they would also talk to the players about using Twitter to release team-related news.

AB: That’s probably another thing. Obviously there’s some stuff that teams want you to keep to yourself and that goes back to this: Maybe managers won’t want to communicate much with their players anymore because they think they gonna go and post it on the Internet. Like I said, the bottom line is everyone is on Twitter, websites… The more publicity they get the better for them, so certain people will take a fine or two but they’ll get an extra fifty thousand people coming to their site. You have to keep that in mind as well.

In Slam Online, Etan Thomas posted a response to your comments in the Sydney Morning Herald when you talked about the public’s image of NBA players. Do you remember that story?

AB: No (laughs).

If you could go back in time, what would you say?

AB: The way it came out it was wrong. I definitely agree with the points Etan Thomas made, I definitely wasn’t right looking back now, but it wasn’t the point I was trying to make. I think it was taken a little bit for a ride by a certain journalist but it definitely wasn’t the point I was trying to make.

So that journalist wrote it in a different way you said it.

AB: It was a phone conversation, so obviously when you are talking to a journalist on the phone you don’t know in what context they are talking about or in what sort of manner they are talking about, so it’s kind of hard we don’t see each other face to face. But like I said, I made a mistake and I’ve learned from it.

Here’s a question from our members of the HoopsHype.com Forums: Are we going to see you high-fiving yourself at the free throw line again?

AB: Yeah, maybe next time I’ll do a chest bump to myself (laughs).

What do you think Australia will do in the World Championships to be played in Turkey next year?

AB: That’s a good question. Obviously we have a new coach and new players coming up, so it’s still questionable what sort of system we are going to play and everything, but it’s definitely exciting. We hope to make the Final Four, but there is a lot of good countries these days playing basketball. It’s very hard getting to the Final Four, especially in the World Championships. If we can make it, it will be a success for us.

Australia lost to New Zealand this summer.

AB: We had a lot of players missing, which is no excuse. Props to them, they played very well against us. They deserved the win and hopefully we can move on and play a good World Championships.

What do you think about the new generation of Australian players?

AB: There are some exciting guys. Pat Mills is definitely one, although he got injured. But there are a lot of them in college who could lead the way next year.

Would you consider playing in Europe once you are done in the NBA?

AB: Basketball in Europe has a different atmosphere than America and Australia. I’d like to experience it and if the body hold up by then it would definitely an option.

*****

On a personal note, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family of the late Tony Chua, team manager of the Red Bull franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Chua was one of the casualties in the height of typhoon "Ondoy" onslaught in Metro Manila last Saturday. He also once served as Chairman of the Asia's first-for-pay loop.

We will miss your bubbly presence in the PBA and thanks for the memories, Mr. Chua.