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.