LeBron James

By Hadarii Jones The worst misfortune in Carmelo Anthony's young career may be the fact that he was drafted in the same year as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Billups changed the culture of the Nuggets and inspired Anthony to begin a run of the best basketball played in his life. His game broadened and his attit...

By Robert Kleeman No one can debate the victor of the Iverson-Chauncey Billups swap. Detroit could regain its conference finalist form in a few years, but only because Iverson and his contract are gone. There is more to basketball than playing hard. Basketball IQ matters. Teamwork matters.

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) 6) Denver Nuggets: Reasons for hope: The Nuggets have made the playoffs for six straight years and last season they took advantage of the injury travails suffered by the Spurs, Jazz, Hornets and Mavericks to finish second in the West in the regular season before advancing to the Western Conference Finals. Energetic reserve Chris Andersen ranked second in the NBA in blocked shots (2.5 bpg) and helped the Nuggets to become a much stingier defensive team. Chauncey Billups averaged nearly nine fewer ppg than his predecessor Allen Iverson did in 2007-08 when the Nuggets won 50 games but Billups received a lot of credit for helping the Nuggets to become a more mature, disciplined squad.   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) Chauncey Billups added another chapter to his fairy tale return to Denver, posting 28 points, 12 assists, seven rebounds and just two turnovers as the Nuggets beat the Mavericks 124-110 to close out their second round series 4-1 and advance to the Western Conference Finals. Carmelo Anthony had a team-high 30 points, while J.R. Smith contributed 18 points off of the bench. Dirk Nowitzki had 32 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in defeat. Anthony did not have much of a playoff resume to speak of prior to this season but he is averaging 27.0 ppg in the 2009 playoffs while shooting .480 from the field. After a shaky 13 point performance in game one versus the Hornets he scored at least 22 points in each of the next nine playoff games, including a playo...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) 4) When ESPN's David Thorpe declared that J.J. Redick could start for a playoff team, I don't think that what he had in mind was posting a game-worst -13 plus/minus number in just 6:17 as his team blew an 18 point lead at home in game one of the playoffs. Redick has started five regular season games in his three year career and he has scored three points in 26 minutes in four career playoff games. 5) Chauncey Billups (36 points, eight assists, no turnovers, 8-9 three point field goal shooting) essentially played a perfect game in Denver's 113-84 rout of New Orleans. His heroics more than made up for yet another subpar playoff game by Carmelo Anthony (13 points on 4-12 field goal shooting). Remember when people seriously compared LeBron James and Car...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) Rodney Stuckey led the Pistons with 20 points but he shot just 7-21 from the field. Although Stuckey has shown flashes of talent as a strong, penetrating combo guard, it is difficult to understand why the Pistons apparently not only believe that he can be a worthy successor to Chauncey Billups but that he is also a more effective player right now than Allen Iverson, who averaged 26.4 ppg in 82 games for a 50 win Denver team last season while leading the NBA in minutes played (41.8 mpg) for the third year in a row and seventh time in his remarkable career. The only time that Detroit beat Cleveland in four regular season games this season is when Iverson scored a team-high 23 points on 8-16 shooting on November 19 as the Pistons won 96-89; not coinciden...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) MVP: Mark Jackson (ESPN/ABC), Jeff Van Gundy (ESPN/ABC), Hubie Brown (ESPN/ABC), J.A. Adande (ESPN/ABC), Avery Johnson (ESPN/ABC), Jamal Mashburn (ESPN/ABC), Ernie Johnson (TNT), Charles Barkley (TNT), Doug Collins (TNT), Kenny Smith (TNT), Chris Webber (TNT) and Chris Mannix (Sports Illustrated) all chose LeBron James. Jon Barry (ESPN/ABC) chose Dwyane Wade. Mike Wilbon (ESPN/ABC) has fluctuated between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James but at last check was leaning toward James. All-NBA First Team G Kobe Bryant G Dwyane Wade C Dwight Howard F LeBron James F Dirk Nowitzki All-NBA Third Team G Tony Parker G Chauncey Billups C Shaquille O'Neal F Paul Pierce F David West G Kobe Bryant G Dwyane Wade C Dwight Howard F LeBron James F Ron Artest   [read the full post]

By M. Haubs(noreply@blogger.com) 1. LeBron James, Cleveland 2. Dwyane Wade, Miami 3. Chris Paul, New Orleans 4. Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers 8. Yao Ming, Houston 11. Pau Gasol, LA Lakers 12. Chauncey Billups, Denver 13. Deron Williams, Utah 14. Carmelo Anthony, Denver 15. (tie) Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett/Rajon Rondo, Boston

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) Speaking of polls, Sports Illustrated asked 190 NBA players who they would want to take a last second shot and Bryant won in a landslide, taking 76% of the votes. Chauncey Billups, LeBron James and Paul Pierce received 3% each, while Dwyane Wade got 2%. I have repeatedly said that I think that last second shots are overrated as a statistical category because the sample size is small and most such shots are low percentage attempts anyway; I am much more impressed by a player who can take over a game for an extended period of time in clutch moments, such as scoring 12 points in the fourth quarter or making a series of big plays when the outcome of the game is in doubt. I am much more certain that Bryant is the best player in the NBA in that regard than I am th...   [read the full post]

By Michael Tiedemann I realize that LeBron James, a few of the Celtics, Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant will get the majority of MVP votes this year. Sure, the Cavaliers may be the worst team in the NBA without James, but Billups at least deserves some of the votes. Right?

That became Billups, the point guard and leader of the team. In 2005-06 — after the Pistons had been in the Finals two straight years with one title, and after a 64-18 record — Billups finished fifth in MVP voting behind Steve Nash, LeBron James, Nowitzki and Kobe Bryant.

By Dan W(theclevelandsportsanimal@gmail.com) As for the Pistons, in case you didn't hear, they traded the heart of their team in Chauncey Billups to the Denver Nuggets for a guy who shoots 80 times a game in Allen Iverson. At first, the team sucked with Iverson running the floor, but they seemed to have found a rhythm as of late, and have bee...

When Allen Iverson was traded from Denver to Detroit for Chauncey Billups and two other players Monday, speculation was rampant on how that enhanced chances for the Pistons to sign LeBron James when he becomes a free agent in 2010. Or Cleveland?

By noreply@blogger.com (FLCeltsFan) Cavaliers feel right at home Cavaliers hanging loose in face of elimination Injured shoulder sidelines Cavaliers’ Daniel Gibson Chris Paul makes you want to watch NBA playoffs Billups works out for Pistons Points well taken LeBron James confident, but Cavaliers’ fans desperate Gibson (shoulder) to miss 1-2 weeks Indy Cornrows Kevin Garnett working for Championship swagger Sports of Boston Celtics four point play SI.com Cavaliers lose sharp shooting Gibson for game 6 Billups on track for East finals HoopsAddict How to stop LeBron James on the break Metro C's head back to Cleveland looking to break road hex Boston Daily In praise of Paul Pierce Bloomberg Boston Celtics giant falls short of great   [read the full post]

By noreply@blogger.com (FLCeltsFan) I watched the Magic beat the Pistons very decisively at home after losing two close ones in Detroit. I would rather meet the Pistons than the Magic because that is another of those athletic teams that give us fits. Billups went out with a strained hamstring and that could mean trouble for the P...