Room to grow

Well, no not really, I mean, Jeremy Lin is still a really good player, but you had to wonder when those turnovers would catch up with him, and I guess they did on this last 89-85 defeat at the hands of an undermanned New Orleans Hornets squad. I mean, on paper they had everything going in, but still, that glaring turnover number in Lin's stat line was something that we needed to really pay attention to. I haven't had much opportunity to review all of Lin's play, but from what I did see, I can tell what his coach Mike D'Antoni is telling him is completely on the dot:

"But at the same time, I was telling (Lin) he’s trying to make the hardest pass out there; he’s trying to make the home run pass."

Not that the home run pass isn't sweet, but let's face it, Jeremy Lin is no Steve Nash, well, optimistically speaking, not yet. I still stand by my comparison of Lin's game to veteran (and highly underrated) PG Tony Parker, who, while playing in a completely different system, plays a style of basketball very similar to our newly discovered Harvard phenom.

The natural answer to Lin's issues is that he needs to calm down, as great as those little highlight reel passes are, he's not going to get those Steve Nash contortion passes, those Penny Hardaway no-look behind the back, or even those Jason Williams street-ball-where-did-that-come-from fancy pants passes every single time. From the footage I was able to review, Lin's biggest problem more specifically from trying to hit those home run passes, is that he's trying to pass through the defense. I recall listening to Deron Williams during the 2004 Beijing Olympics training talking about Jason Kidd, he said the main reason Kidd had all these great passes wasn't because he saw lanes that weren't there, Williams saw all the same lanes, but Kidd was willing to risk those lanes, Nash is of a similar vein, but the difference is, that they were such mercurial passers that they can get away with it a lot of the time, granted Nash averaged at his worst 4.2 turnovers per 36 minutes and Kidd, 3.9, that's still a lot of turnovers. Lin on the other hand is now up to 5.4 turnovers per 36 minutes, that's a new level of not good. I completely understand that D'Antoni runs a high PG usage offense and that Lin is young and getting used to playing at the NBA level, but I also recall turnovers being an issue since Harvard for Lin, he's just finally had enough minutes in the NBA to have it start showing. I mean, 5 turnovers in a single game is already pretty bad, but to be averaging more than 5 across the season (granted he's only played really like 8 games), we've got an issue.

I'm no basketball guru, I don't play or understand the game incredibly well, and I'm not going to claim to be able to fix Lin's issues. I think one of the reasons though, that Lin is having this issue is partially because of his emphasis on keeping a live dribble. When you dribble the ball you have to keep it low, however, to come up for the pass, the straight line is through the defenders, where all those arms are swinging and legs are kicking, Lin may see an opening, but you've got to have that quarterback bullet pass in order sneak it in through there, and frankly, NBA players are just too good and react too fast in order for anything short of perfection to slip through. At the end of the day, here's my advice to Lin, stick with the easy passes, run your pick and roll, you've got to be okay with the hockey assist. If I were to take D'Antoni's spot, the last play I would run, would be a basic pick and roll with Amar'e and Lin, then have J.R. Smith and Steve Novak sitting in the corner and wing respectively for the three if it needs to be kicked out. The pick and roll doesn't have to be flashy, it just has to score two points, I know Knicks fans are asking for a show, but at the end of the day, your job is to win basketball games, and I'm sure they'll forgive you the couple of highlights lost for the W. If I were to ask Lin to model his game after someone, it'd definitely now be Tony Parker. He's not going to get the rack as fast, but he's definitely attacking as aggressively, so keep it up.

Finally, I'd say that Lin needs to play over the defense, sometimes, he doesn't need to keep the ball on the floor. Yes, I know, a live dribble, awesome, but that being said, the Knicks are an athletic team, play over the defense. Lin's greatest assists have always been when he has been keeping his passes high over the defenders' heads. I'm not asking for an alley oop every single time, but sometimes you have to trust your teammates to get to the ball, you don't always have to put it into their hands directly. Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady made a lot of their facilitating success looking over the defense, now I know Lin is only 6-3 to Carter's 6-6 and McGrady's 6-8 but still, you need to keep looking up. I'm sure as much as the team is adjusting to playing with Lin, Lin is adjusting to play with the team as well. I'm still very optimistic about Lin's career, he just needs to calm down, and play some sound basketball. If you see the bounce pass, go for it, your bigs are going to roll a lot harder to the rim because they know you can get them the ball, so don't be afraid to throw a lob, trust your guys to get to where they need to be, you don't have to be Steve Nash, and remember, as good as Nash made Amar'e, Amar'e made Nash look good by being ready for the pass and finishing, so keep your head up, both on and off the court.

Depth, not chemistry to be the issue with the Knicks

A lot of people have been asking whether or not Jeremy Lin can sustain his stellar performance or if it will be dampened by the return of the Knicks' two stars, Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, to the lineup, because, let's face it, they use up possessions, quite a few of them, and each possession used up is one less possession for Lin to excel. While this may not be great for Jeremy Lin fantasy owners, the fact of the matter is, that Lin's emergence is a boon not necessarily in spite of Melo and STAT but rather, because of them.

First off, I've already said at my other blog, Fundamentally Sound that to me, Jeremy Lin's game most reminds me of Tony Parker. Now in this situation, you may be better suited with a pass first type guard such as Rajon Rondo or Ricky Rubio, however, I believe that Lin, like Tony Parker, will surprise us all in his ability to man the point. While Lin may not be the pass-first, high percentage shooter that Steve Nash was, D'Antoni has to be excited that Lin can see the floor and recognize the options given him. Sure, he's turnover prone, he's trying to make the fancy passes, but I think, as he learns the angles given him, he'll settle down, and hopefully get his turnovers down to a reasonable rate.

Lin's ability to run the pick-and-roll, as well as just involve his teammates make him the ideal floor general for the team. Amar'e Stoudemire got a lot of attention from his physicality and overall game, but his success came mostly from the pick-and-roll game he had with Steve Nash. This season, it was a struggle to get Amar'e involved in the offense because of how it stagnated without someone to facilitate the ball movement around the floor on the offensive end. With Lin getting the likes of even an offensive dud like Jared Jeffries involved, we can see that an Lin-Amar'e pick-and-roll combination will only bring good things to the Knicks in the future. Simply put, Amar'e will start looking like the Amar'e we expected, because he can expect those passes and those looks that he wasn't getting before.

On the flip side, we have to wonder about Melo, sure the ball gets stuck in his hands a lot, but quite frankly sometimes you need a player like that. Regardless of what people say about Melo and whether he deserves his contract or not, the fact of the matter is that he can put the ball in the bucket. Melo is probably one of the best, if not the best, pure scorers in the league. I would argue that with Lin manning the point guard position, Melo can focus on doing what he does best, scoring, rather than trying to do something he's not comfortable doing, facilitating. While Melo may be the most popular and well-paid (though it's arguable now with all the Linsanity stuff), and he may ultimately be the face of the franchise (again, caveat with the Linsanity), he's not really the natural leader of the group. I believe that, at least on the floor, deference to Lin will be a good thing for him, because Lin will try to energize the rest of the guys (i.e. Imam Shumpert and Landry Fields) to get into it. Melo is one of those high efficiency scorers when he's on, remember, he averaged about 26 points per game playing NEXT to Allen Iverson, who averaged I think 23 (I'm too lazy to look it up), helping a relatively successful Nuggets make the playoffs. With Lin getting all the other role players involved, I think this situation is much better than that.

The main "chemistry" issue I sense is the possibility of discontentment from Baron Davis when (if) he gets back. However, I don't find that to be a major issue, because, provided he's healthy, figuring out how to split time between Jeremy Lin and a healthy and motivated Baron Davis is a luxurious problem I'm sure Mike D'Antoni wouldn't mind having. What does concern me though is the frontcourt rotation. While Stoudemire and Chandler look to eat up most of the time on the floor, I don't know that Novak and Jeffries necessarily are going to take them the distance. I like how they are getting involved, and Novak really to me has taken the sort of Matt Bonner of the Eastern Conference kind of role. That being said, I still think the Knicks need to figure out a way to add some size. I don't know who would be a good center for the Knicks, maybe it involves cutting Mike Bibby, maybe it involves trading Toney Douglas, I don't know, but I think that, way more so than any chemistry issues on the court with Melo, STAT, and Lin should be the primary concern of the Knicks.

An end to all this Melodrama

The Knicks did it.  They finally got Carmelo Anthony.  And Chauncey Billups and Anthony Carter and Shelden Williams and Corey Brewer.  Oh, and they get Renaldo Balkman back too.  Who'd they get rid of?  Well, finally Eddy Curry's fat contract, but also Anthony Randolph, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Timofey Mozgov, and Raymond Felton.  Curry and Randolph go to Minnesota while the balance of the players end up in the Mile High City.  On paper, it looks okay... I guess.  Why then do I still have this bad taste in my mouth?  Growing up in upstate New York sort of makes me a de facto Knicks fan, and frankly, I can't really say I like this trade, any of it.

Do I think Melo is a bad player?  No.  Do I think Melo won't help the Knicks?  No.  But to be honest, I don't see Melo making a big difference.  Sure I can make this team on my Playstation, average 36 and 28 ppg respectively with Amar'e and Melo and then go undefeated and win championships, but this isn't a video game.  The Knicks didn't really need Melo and Melo honestly didn't need the Knicks, from a pure basketball perspective (I know there are other factors).  I could be proven wrong, maybe Melo will learn to pass, Billups and Amar'e run a super effective pick and roll, but instinctively, I want to flinch at this trigger happy trade.  Yes, we've been talking about this the whole year, but I can't help but think the Knicks gunned it a little too fast on the green light.  First, let's consider the pre-Melo Knicks:

PG - Raymond Felton, Toney Douglas
SG - Landry Fields, Bill Walker
SF - Danilo Gallinari, Shawne Williams
PF - Amar'e Stoudemire, Wilson Chandler
C - Ronny Turiaf, Timofey Mozgov

With Kelenna Azubuike still out with a bum knee, players like Bill Walker and Shawne Williams have stepped up admirably, so they've been getting by admirably.  The Knicks were a decent team, but not one that could get over the top, so here's what happens after the trade:

PG - Chauncey Billups, Anthony Carter
SG - Landry Fields, Corey Brewer
SF - Carmelo Anthony, Shawne Williams
PF - Amar'e Stoudemire, Renaldo Balkman
C - Ronny Turiaf, Shelden Williams

While Melo is the obvious upgrade over Gallo, but Billups and Balkman are both steps down from Felton and Chandler respectively.  Additionally, there's no guarantee that Brewer will be a more positive contributor than either Walker or Williams (who are both still on the team) or if he'll even play if/when Azubuike gets back.  Furthermore, as productive as Shelden Williams has been, he's no center, and he won't compensate for the lack of defense provided by Melo and Amar'e.

Honestly, it's not that I don't think Amar'e and Melo won't work, but rather that it won't work as effectively as people might surmise.  Both can score, but both require more isolation sets to do so.  However, that being said, these are two of the most respected players offensively in the entire world.  They have a decent core, but any core with Chauncey Billups as a major cog leaves the window very short, and frankly, even in his prime, I don't know Billups could've made up the difference that is between a Melo/Amar'e combination and the remaining elite teams of the league.  Of course, Billups did say earlier that if he got traded he may retire, which may be a good thing for New York, not in the short term, but perhaps it means they can go after something they need in free agency.  Frankly, all in all, New York got its big name, but is it going to put them over the top?  Not really.  Seriously though, Melo, prove me wrong.  Please.

Who needs Melo? Who does Melo need?

Amidst all the trade talk circling the player that is Carmelo Anthony, and regardless of what you have to say about the pundits who are circulating these stories, how you think Melo is handling the situation, how you think Masai Ujiri is handling the situation, if you think he will leave, if you think he will stay, regardless of all that, we've kind of been overlooking a pretty major question.  There's not much doubt to me that Melo will ultimately get what he wants, or at the very least go into free agency and sign where he wants to play.  So maybe this question is moot, but it's a legitimate question all the same: which team needs a player like Melo? or in converse, what kind of team does Melo need around him?

Playing Like a Super Star: It's not just in the numbers

You knew I would get to this eventually.  I just had to, there's so much to write about here.  Really.  The Miami Heat are now 10-8 after a much needed win against a dismal Washington Wizard's squad.  10-8.  That puts them smack between Chicago (9-6) and Indiana (8-7), 5th overall in the Eastern Conference, which is exactly where they were last season 5th in the Easter Conference.  We're talking about a team that replaced Dorrell Wright, Michael Beasley, Quentin Richardson, and Jermaine O'Neal with LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Mike Miller, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas.  Okay, so Miller has yet to play a game, Haslem is out for the season, but really?  This is the team we were itching to break the 1996 Chicago Bulls' 72-10 record?  I mean, sure they can win 63 of the next 64 and do that...  Seriously though.

You can gripe all you want about how Miami doesn't have that defensive minded point guard they need (read: George Hill), how they don't have a real center that can live off of crashing the boards (read: Tyson Chandler), etc... What does it ultimately come down to though?  The Miami Heat aren't a good team.  Don't get me wrong, they are a team with awesome players, this is the makings of some broken roster on some version of an NBA basketball game or another, but the difference between reality and the video game is that you can't "manufacture" team play.  If I know specifically what crossover leads me to an easy dunk, and I can hit cutters with anybody, sure, I'll average 10 assists a piece for both LeBron and Wade, heck, I'll have Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller averaging 20 points a game each.  Chris Bosh will average 25 ppg on 80% shooting.  I can do that all on a video game.  So far though, as we've seen, the lineup of random PG, Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, random C isn't working, but it should, right?

Outside of Chris Bosh (who's really just put up a lot of flashy numbers on a really bad team), no one can deny the mercurial talents that are Dwayne Wade and LeBron James.  They've consistently led mediocre teams into the playoffs year after year, and in 2006 (with the help of Shaq) Wade got a ring, and in 2007 James stunned the world by taking a less-than-mediocre Cavaliers (when Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Drew Gooden are your 2nd and 3rd leading scorers you are less than mediocre) to the Finals.  So you figure, when you put the perennial All-Star starting SG, SF, and PF together on one team you get awesomeness right?  I mean, it sort of worked with Boston, right?  or maybe we were just expecting awesomeness to just by bringing three awesome players together?  Well, look at how Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson ended up.  Sure they both averaged 25 ppg but Denver was still a pretty dismal team.

I think because of how good these players are, and how bad of a team they were on, and how far they took those bad teams (that and the fact that those teams, save maybe the 2006 Miami Heat, arguably, were never good with these players), we often overlook what it takes for a star of any caliber to help his team succeed.  The same scrutiny that Kobe Bryant endured sharing a starting lineup with Smush Parker and Chris Mihm.  In order for the Heat to succeed, they can't be just doing whatever it is they've been doing, i.e. chuck LeBron James/Dwayne Wade the ball and hope something good comes out of it.  Certainly not having any confidence in Mario Chalmers/Carlos Arroyo/Zydrunas Ilgauskas/Joel Anthony doesn't help, but frankly, they need more of an option than "give the best player on the floor the ball".  While Phil Jackson has been gifted with stellar talent like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, why do his teams win?  Because Kobe/Michael "taking over" is more of a last resort than primary plan of attack.  We can argue all we want about both LeBron and Wade needing the ball in his hands to be effective, but at the end of the day 2 points is 2 points right?  It shouldn't matter if it's LeBron James or James Jones that scores 30 so long as Miami comes out with the win, right?  That's they're job as basketball players, to win.  We all believe that Wade and LeBron are a better pair than Iverson and Melo, why?  Because we still think Wade and LeBron do more than just score, and they've shown that they can (albeit in flashes, because they've been asked to score so much). 

Where am I going with all this?  First, the Heat need to understand what they are good at.  Does this mean moving without the ball?  Gasp! What a novel idea?  Ball movement?  Who would've thought!  Between LeBron and Wade there are enough handles where it shouldn't matter who the PG is.  If neither one wants those duties then you have to be willing to work within the system you have and not just hang around the triple threat zone waiting for your turn to go off.  Ultimately what it boils down to is this, as good as you are, as the star of your team, you're not going to win if you don't make your teammates better.  It's an intangible that's hard to measure or sometimes even point to, but ultimately, your team, your system, which is based around your star, has to make your other players play better than they would otherwise.  Sure Erik Spoelstra is doing his job in trying to motivate the team, but the person who ultimately does that is the best player on the team.  A lot of people criticize LeBron James for passing the ball to Donyell Marshall at the end of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2007, I don't, it was the right decision at the time.  That's what role players are there for, to fill a role, what the star does, is make their jobs easier for them.  Kelly Dwyer called LeBron out saying that if he's not going to get the bulk of the offensive possessions then he should be shutting down the opposition, hitting the glass harder, etc... and I completely agree.

The Miami Heat can totally get away with winning by just having better players on their roster, but until their stars get the rest of the team to step it up by example, just being awesome (on paper) is only going to get you so far, and that certainly isn't far enough to win a championship.  What do all these great championship stars have in common?  They lead by example.  Kobe Bryant will get in your face and basketball you to death, Tim Duncan lets Pop do that, and if Timmy's gonna get railed by the coach that means nobody's safe, because if the best PF of all time is going to listen to his coach, you figure everyone else should listen to him too, and right there I've accounted for 9 championships in the past 11 years.  Miami, you can sit on your laurels and just be a collection of awesome players, or you can have (one of) your stars emerge as a driving force that pushes the team to greatness.  It's more than just basketball, it's more than just the stats, the numbers are nice, but the rings are nicer.

The Exit Poll: Chicago Bulls

Next team up is the Chicago Bulls, the once great dynasty from the 1990s, oh, how the great have fallen.

Coach: Vinny Del Negro
PG: Derrick Rose, Jannero Pargo
SG: Kirk Hinrich, Flip Murray
SF: Luol Deng, James Johnson
PF: Taj Gibson, Hakim Warrick
C: Joakim Noah, Brad Miller
Reserves: Acie Law, Devin Brown, Rob Kurz, Chris Richard, Joe Alexander

I don't know where to start with this team.  I know Kelly Dwyer from Yahoo! Sports has a soft spot for this team.  I personally was rooting for the Mailman during the Finals in 1997 and 1998.  Now... well, frankly, they only made the Playoffs because the Raptors really are that bad.  I don't know enough about Del Negro to say how he does as head coach, but I've heard enough stories to know that he's not really that good, and I suppose I'm putting it a little more nicely than some of them.  Derrick Rose has shown potential, but not a whole lot else.  Sure he can score, sure he's fast, sure he can get assists, but his shot selection isn't stellar and he takes probably the most inefficient shot in basketball at a very, very high clip.  Everyone else, well, everyone else is a plug piece.  Noah and Gibson are both energy guys in the mold of someone like Anderson Varejao, while Deng, one of the premier mid-range shooters in the league, is primarily a viable instant-offense second option.  Hinrich is a facilitator and defensive specialist, great piece but only in the right system (say Portland?).  This means Derrick Rose is the go-to guy, not a go-to guy I'd look for.

I think most of these guys are expiring contracts.  Word on the street is Vinny Del Negro is out, but in terms of players, it's hard to say.  The obvious answer is a more consistent scorer, optimally someone in the post.  However, if we like Taj Gibson.  Well, I don't know that they want to get rid of or give up on Derrick Rose yet, but maybe an offensive option in the 2 and defensive options off the bench, better than James Johnson, Jannero Pargo, and Flip Murray.  Maybe a fully healthy Luol Deng will make the difference, but I can't say how much so.  Nothing short of a major re-haul, but maybe I'm biased, I don't really like anyone on the team aside from Deng.

The Exit Roll: Charlotte Bobcats

I apologize for those people that are looking to read my witty exposition and my failure to write for you.  Anyways, so here is my next piece, or set of pieces.  I'm looking at the teams that got ousted from the first round of the playoffs and how I think they can change it.  Let's go:

The Charlotte Bobcats.  Well, they did a lot better than people thought they would.  I personally think that they got bad luck drawing the Magic for the first round.  I really think that they had a shot if they drew Boston, but instead, they had to face Dwight Howard and a rather embarrassing first round sweep as their franchise playoff debut.  So going into this post season, how can they get better?  Well, let's start at the logical place, what do they have now?

Head Coach: Larry Brown
PG: Raymond Felton, D.J. Augustin
SG: Stephen Jackson, Larry Hughes
SF: Gerald Wallace, Stephen Graham
PF: Boris Diaw, Tyrus Thomas
C: Theo Ratliff, Tyson Chandler
Reserves: Nazr Mohammed, DeSagana Diop, Gerald Henderson, Alexis Ajinca

My first reaction to this roster is simply that, I like it.  It's a good lineup full of good players.  However, a slew of "good" players don't make up for the glaring lack of excellent players.  Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson are known for their above-average defense, and if Gerald Wallace weren't so injury prone then I would call him one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, and Stephen Jackson, well, he's showing his age.  Boris Diaw, well, he's not consistent, but when he's on, he's a good defender and Tyson Chandler is one of the premier post defenders in the league, but Chandler is also known to be an injury liability.  While I think Jackson and Wallace are decent offensively, the Bobcats don't really have a go-to offensive option.  Most notably they don't have a presence in the post, while Jackson is decent, he's not great and not someone I'd consider go-to down low.  Then, neither are Diaw, Tyrus Thomas, Theo Ratliff, nor Tyson Chandler.  Nazr Mohammed is decent, but I understand the reservation Larry Brown has for giving Mohammed extended minutes, we saw how that worked out in every team Mohammed's been on except San Antonio, and of course, that might have something to do with a little someone named Tim Duncan.

I like the core of Jackson, Wallace, and Chandler, and Gerald Henderson looks to be a good prospect, but they need someone, someone that can put points on the board, and given their age and injury track record, they have to win NOW.  I don't think they can get rid of Diaw, and Larry Hughes is an expiring contract, but to be honest, I can't say they have very attractive tradeable assets.  You figure that with 5 different centers they'd figure out something of a big man rotation, but given who it is, DeSagana Diop, Alexis Ajinca, Nazr Mohammed, and Theo Ratliff, they're not really tradeable.  The obvious upgrades, at least positionally, are PG or PF.  Raymond Felton and Boris Diaw, serviceable, but only if you have some offensive options next to them.  Given Stephen Jackson's underrated passing ability, maybe a score-first point guard (Gilbert Arenas?) or something...  Otherwise, a solid post scorer at PF (Carlos Boozer?).  I don't know that free agency is really an option to be frank, I don't know that they have the cap-space, so it's gotta be a trade, but they have all these bloated contracts: Diaw, Diop, Mohammed, etc...  We'll see how it works.  Hopefully Michael Jordan doesn't call too many of the shots.

Trades in the shadow of the All-Star Game

Okay, so I didn't watch the All-Star Game this year, from all reports it was okay that I didn't. I heard it wasn't really that good. Anyways, I check the boards to find, this massive trade between Washington and Dallas. It's something to ponder. In summary, it's Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood, and DeShawn Stevenson for Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, James Singleton, and Quinton Ross.

Hm... how does this pan out? Not sure. We know that Washington is on firesale mode, and completely rebuilding, so it's not a bad deal for them, I think all the contracts are expiring, if not, Howard is a decent piece to build around. So the big question is how this works out for Dallas. I think Butler is an upgrade over Howard, but a marginal one, though many might disagree with me given Howard's recent slump. Though he doesn't bring the rebounding that Howard has, the presence of Shawn Marion mitigates the problem slightly. Additionally, Brendan Haywood I think is the clincher. He's somewhat underappreciated as a center since he played for Washington, he's not elite, but he certainly is an upgrade over Erick Dampier and Drew Gooden on the offensive and defensive ends respectively. I think DeShawn Stevenson is also a legitimate backup on the wings. All-in-all, way to capitalize Dallas. I anticipate Butler and Haywood will start immediately, so as soon as they get integrated into Rick Carlisle's system, Dallas becomes that much scarier. Singleton and Ross were pretty expendable so, Dallas gets an A for upgrading needs at starter and adding depth. Both Butler and Marion can shift between the 2 and 3 slots to the 3 and 4 slots, DeShawn Stevenson can play the same positions as Butler, and then adding in Terry and Dirk the wings are covered pretty well, then Dampier serves a suitable backup for Haywood. Score for Dallas.

The 5 Most Confusing Front Offices

Since the season has started, I'm going to do this quick piece on pretty much my overall offseason grades for various front offices. I'm a critical guy, so I'll just go with the five worst. I mean, these confused the heck out of me. These aren't in any particular order, just the order that I come up with in my brain.

1.) Minnesota Timberwolves

To say that this team boggles me is something of an understatement. The first move made was essentially trading Mike Miller and Randy Foye for Ricky Rubio, who, mind you, probably isn't even going to play this season. Even if he did, I don't see him being very spectacular, he's like... Steve Nash without a jumpshot. That was something understandable, as Foye was obviously not a point guard and Sebastian Telfair in a starting gig is just hurting. Great, so T'Wolves go and land one of the premier points in the draft, and then subsequently draft the next premier point in the draft in Johnny Flynn. Either Flynn is expensive Rubio-not-coming-to-America insurance, or something's up. Obviously we were all a little shocked when Sacramento opted for Tyreke Evans over Rubio, and we knew Rubio's stock was quickly dropping and therefore he no longer was super valuable as trade bait because the first 3 teams didn't need him. Then they draft Wayne Ellington, fine, project PG, probably our backup. Rebuilding looks good so far huh? Until we remember that T'Wolves now have no wing players whatsoever. Rashad McCants was traded to Sac, Foye and Miller gone to Washington. So to solve their problems, the T'Wolves decide to trade Craig Smith and Sebastian Telfair, who do they get back? Jason Hart? Wait, they need another PG? I feel really bad for Al Jefferson at this point in time. Deciding to make a splash in free agency, the T'Wolves later decide to sign Ramon Sessions. We so far, have a roster of 4 PGs with one playing overseas. Please do not tell me Sessions is a combo guard. The wings currently are Ryan Gomes and Corey Brewer with no SG to speak of. Somehow then, they manage to pick up Sasha Pavlovic and Damien Wilkins, serviceable but nothing stellar. Essentially, I think they're eventually hoping for either Sessions or Flynn to really make a huge impact and become studs, I mean, if we take everything else away, T'Wolves essentially gave up Foye, Miller, Smith, and Telfair for Sessions, Wilkins, Pavlovic, and I suppose ultimately Flynn. Unless this Rubio gamble pays off and he manages to somehow play with two other starting caliber point guards, or gets traded for some stud on the wings, the PG love from the T'Wolves was confusing as heck, and honestly, doesn't make them better. It overaddresses one need, and doesn't address any others.

2.) Memphis Grizzlies

I'm starting to take this team as seriously as the Harlem Globetrotters. Okay, so first, they trade Darko for Quentin Richardson, understandable, sort of... Then they draft Hasheem Thabeet, which confused me to no end, but I guess that means Marc Gasol isn't good enough? That boggles my mind. The 2nd overall pick isn't something you spend on a simple defensive stopper, 7-feet or nothing, they have Gasol, so I'm not sure how that's going to work. Then they trade Q-Rich for Z-Bo (Zach Randolph). Great... While it solves the problem of interior scoring, the last thing the Grizzlies need is a ballhogging black hole (like OJ Mayo and Rudy Gay). There isn't a single player on the roster at the moment that can be effective not putting the ball in the bucket, and not a single player on the roster who can be effective without the ball in his hands. Then to top it all off the Grizzlies opt to sign the one player that needs the ball in his hands the most, Allen Iverson. I'm sorry, but all the carts from the 3pt shootout won't be enough balls to go around for this team. If you thought AI and Melo on Denver had sticky hands, what about a floor spread of Iverson, Mayo, Gay, and Randolph? Geez. Sure it's an offensive powerhouse, but that's what Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph were supposed to be three years ago, and we all saw how that turned out.

3.) Atlanta Hawks

I understand why the Warriors traded Jamal Crawford, they just wanted to get rid of him, it's kind of a Nellie thing. What I don't understand is why ultimately the Hawks traded for him. It's not that I don't like Crawford, but it's just that he doesn't really fit. The trade ultimately ended up being Speedy Claxton and Acie Law for Jamal Crawford. Claxton and Law probably will see little to no playing time in Nellie-ball, but Crawford apparently is supposed to fill the void of 6th man on the Hawks. While the idea of the shooting from a Jamal Crawford/Joe Johnson backcourt is intriguing, it's fairly redundant. From my perspective, Jamal Crawford is essentially a highly inefficient Joe Johnson, who in and of himself is already pretty inefficient. What this does mean though, is that perhaps the Hawks haven't yet given up on Josh Smith. While this provides a means of flexibility, possibly moving Joe Johnson on occasion to SF, having a backcourt of Bibby, Crawford, Johnson, the concept of Jamal Crawford being a Flip Murray upgrade is a little confusing to me. Why? Simply put, Murray knows his spot, Crawford needs the ball a lot to be effective. If Joe Johnson still gets his touches, Crawford's game is going to have to come at the expense of Williams, Smith, and Horford. I'm not entirely ecstatic about such a prospect. Of course, the Hawks could prove me wrong by having Crawford simply prove me wrong about him, or turn their forwards (Williams, Smith, Horford) into some monstrous offensive rebounding team.

4.) Charlotte Bobcats

I'm sorry, if this team wants me to start taking them seriously (and I bet they could care less if I'm taking them seriously) they have to start considering the implications of their moves. A year after Larry Brown takes over, the Bobcats opted to swap their center Emeka Okafor, for Tyson Chandler. On paper it looks like a wash, Okafor is slightly better offensively and Chandler is a legit 7-footer with stellar defense. What's the problem then? First, on a team that struggles with its offense, replacing an offensive cog with a defensive piece doesn't really make sense. While Chandler is active, a lot of his production came from playing with Chris Paul, production that neither Raymond Felton nor DJ Augustin can help replicate. While I respect the players, Larry Brown essentially has his three primary scoring options shifted to Gerald Wallace, Boris Diaw, and Raja Bell, not exactly what I'd call explosive. Of course, Larry Brown's recent success has shown that perhaps you don't need a scorer, as seen with the 2004 Detroit Squad. Yet something tells me that Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, and Rasheed Wallace are greater than Wallace, Diaw, and Bell, especially if you consider the support cast of Tayshaun Prince, Ben Wallace, and Antonio McDyess as compared to Raymond Felton, Tyson Chandler, and DJ Augustin. I don't get it. I really don't. Maybe someone can clue me in.

5.) Milwaukee Bucks

The traded Richard Jefferson for essentially Kurt Thomas (they cut Bowen and Oberto), and then traded for Amir Johnson and then traded Amir Johnson again. Then signed Hakim Warrick and drafted Brandon Jennings. Though it's technically not this offseason, I'm still reeling from the whole extension of the Andrew Bogut. I mean I know he was first overall pick, but really? Is he that good? I know you overpay big men, but the same price tag as Deron Williams and Chris Paul? I'm still not convinced he's anything more than a younger Chris Kaman. With the retention of Kurt Thomas and the signing of Kurt Thomas I'm not entirely convinced that the Bucks are rebuilding, but then again, maybe they are with a core of Brandon Jennings, Luc-Richard Mbah-a-Moute, and Joe Alexander. Of course, that makes me feel bad for Michael Redd. I really don't know. It's like they want to try to covertly go young, so they move towards Mbah-a-Moute and Jennings, but not so you know, so they go keep Ridnour and Redd... Yeah, if that's as confusing to read as it was to write, I think I've done my job.

Sucks for Sessions, Sucks for the Knicks

I'm not really sure what the New York Knicks are going for here. Do they really want to win? I grew up in upstate New York so I'm something of a closet Knicks fan, there's still a little hometown loyalty left in me, but because I started following basketball seriously during the end of the Isaiah Thomas-running-the-show era it was something of a fairly difficult pill to swallow. Since then, Donnie Walsh has successfully removed most everyone Isaiah Thomas had brought in (see: Jamal Crawford, Quentin Richardson, Stephon Marbury, Jerome James, Renaldo Balkman, Zach Randolph, Malik Rose, and Isaiah Thomas) with few exceptions (see: Wilson Chandler, Eddy Curry, and Jarred Jeffries) with a couple of the fan favorites in limbo (see: Nate Robinson and David Lee). From how I see it right now, the only guaranteed contracts come 2010 are Danilo Gallinari, Eddy Curry, and Jared Jeffries, the latter two of which Walsh is working furiously to get off the books. While Walsh has made strides to rectify the debacle that Dolan and Thomas had brought upon themselves and the once respectable Knicks organization, he's done little else to make the team better, to make the team something to believe in, heck, even something that makes the playoffs in a mediocre (but improving) Eastern Conference. While I understand the concept of saving for a big name star in 2010 (one that might not even show up), does surrounding said star (see: LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Amar'e Stoudemire) with a slapdash collection of random talent really help? I mean, I like Wilson Chandler, and Danilo Gallinaro is supposed to be a stud, but are we really going to try to play them at the SG and PF spots respectively if the Knicks do land LeBron? Is that enough?

The big free agent name of the 2009 offseason for the Knicks has been Ramon Sessions, and if the reports are to be trusted, then Sessions will not be signing with the Knicks, ouch. I can't say I know enough about Sessions save except some numbers to say that I have a fair grasp of what Sessions can do. I mean, I know that he dropped 20 assists in a meaningless game at the end of another losing Bucks season in 2007. I know that Scott Skiles ended up playing him next to Ridnour as an off guard and his production suffered. I know that he's still young, and has tons of potential and everybody likes him, and I know that he's no longer welcome in Milwaukee, and the only other team courting him, the Clippers, would make him the backup failsafe plan of a questionably motivated Baron Davis. I also know that he has holes in his game, he can't hit an outside shot to save his life, but you know what? Neither can Rajon Rondo, nor Andre Miller, Tony Parker had a questionable jumper until recently, Jason Kidd's jumper's not exactly stellar either. My point is simple, certainly Ramon Sessions is by no means a finished product, I mean, he's only 24, he's not been in the league that long, so he has room to grow, but I think that Sessions is exactly the kind of player that the Knicks needs, and the Knicks are exactly the kind of team that Sessions needs.

Sessions is a young explosive player who has the potential to be an exciting draw for Knicks fans and basketball fans for Donnie Walsh. Paired with the freedom that Mike D'Antoni gives to PGs in his 7-second-or-less offense, Sessions has the potential to really grow into his own. I mean, just look at what D'Antoni was able to do with Chris Duhon, a prototypical NBA backup point guard. Just look at Leandro Barbosa and Steve Nash with and without D'Antoni's offense. Yet Donnie Walsh seems allergic to Sessions based entirely on the fact that he wants years, and Jared Jeffries and Eddy Curry are still on the books. It'll be a pity if Sessions is still a free agent come trade deadline, but it'll be a steal for the Knicks if he is and they can jettison one of Curry's or Jeffries's contract if not both, though I don't know why a talent like Sessions would fall to that far. Some might find it hard to fault Walsh because of the 2010 jackpot in free agency, I mean there's LeBron, Bosh, Wade, Amar'e, Kobe, Joe Johnson, Ray Allen, Dirk Nowitzki, just to name a few. Honestly though, for those teams that haven't made it, does moving from one mediocre team to another mediocre team that pays more really make it worth it to them? If it does, does New York really want that kind of a player? It really depends on what New York wants to do, and I personally want New York to win, it's pointless if you don't play to win. New York is already still one of the most profitable franchises in the league and they're probably at best the second or third worst team in the Eastern Conference. How long will "At least we're better than the Nets and the Grizzlies" really last you? Will Dwayne Wade find the combination of Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari that much better than one of Mario Chalmers and Michael Beasley? Will Chris Bosh really think that it'll be better there than with Calderon and Turkoglu? Really? If they're winners why not go play in Cleveland (taking Shaq's paycheck) with LeBron? Or maybe some Western Conference team that's more competitive? Certainly there is the implication of being a marquee player for a larger market, and while Amar'e might want to play once again with D'Antoni, his competitiveness has been questioned and he's now widely regarded as someone who can't take a team the distance.

So save for the future? What's Donnie Walsh going to do if all of the big names balk at playing at New York with a bunch of misfits? Is there anything even moderately appealing to some combination of Larry Hughes, Chris Duhon, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Al Harrington, Darko Milicic, Eddy Curry, Jared Jeffries, and possibly David Lee and Nate Robinson? Of which only 4 of whom will be around and only 2 of which will likely play in the 2010-2011 season if all 4 are still around. Knicks need direction, and they have none, "waiting for the 2010 free agency" isn't any more direction than "waiting for a multi-million dollar inheritance/lottery" is a career path. Sessions needs the Knicks, the Knicks need Sessions, do the right thing.

Does DeShawn Stevenson know what he's talking about?

I know players are supposed to be confident in their teams, I know they're supposed to say the right things, but making bold promises? That's pretty iffy. When you make a concrete guarantee, you're putting someone up to prove you wrong, especially if you haven't proven anything before. So, the latest of them has been from the Washington Wizards, with DeShawn Stevenson making this bold claim:

"If Gilbert is 70 percent, we're going win a lot of games. If Gilbert is 80 percent, we're going to be No. 1 in the East. If he's 100 percent, we might win a championship."

Obviously the Gilbert being referred to is none other than Wizard's captain Gilbert Arenas, aka Agent Zero. Does Stevenson's assessment of Arenas ring true? I don't know, as he's only played 15 games in the past two seasons, that's right, he's only seen floor time 15 out of the past 164 possible regular season games. While the "percent" that Agent Zero plays at may be arbitrary, Stevenson all but guarantees the Wizards to be at the top of the Eastern Conference. Is that even feasible with Gilbert at 100%? I'm dead serious, I'm sure Washington is a great team, but does having Gilbert Arenas automatically make them better than Cleveland, Boston, and Orlando? Hm.... Well, let's look at the rosters. The Washington Wizards boast a lineup likely of:

PG - Gilbert Arenas, Randy Foye, Javaris Crittenton
SG - Mike Miller, Nick Young, DeShawn Stevenson
SF - Caron Butler, Dominic McGuire
PF - Antawn Jamison, Andray Blatche
C - Brendan Haywood, JaVale McGee

Okay, that's pretty impressive, but let's look at matchups:

Cleveland Cavaliers:

PG - Mo Williams, Daniel Gibson
SG - Delonte West, Anthony Parker
SF - LeBron James, Jamario Moon, Jawad Williams
PF - Anderson Varejao, Leon Powe, JJ Hickson
C - Shaquille O'Neal, Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Boston Celtics:

PG - Rajon Rondo, Eddie House
SG - Ray Allen, Tony Allen
SF - Paul Pierce, Marquis Daniels, Bill Walker
PF - Kevin Garnett, Glen Davis, Brian Scalabrine
C - Kendrick Perkins, Rasheed Wallace

Orlando Magic:

PG - Jameer Nelson, Anthony Johnson
SG - Vince Carter, JJ Redick
SF - Mickael Pietrus, Matt Barnes
PF - Rashard Lewis, Brandon Bass, Ryan Anderson
C - Dwight Howard, Marcin Gortat

Now let's assume 2006-2007 performance would be comparable to Gilbert Arenas at 100% and do some quick comparisons:

Per 36:

Rk	Player	Season	Age	G	GS	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
1	Gilbert Arenas	2006-07	25	74	73	2942	7.9	18.9	.418	2.5	7.1	.351	7.4	8.8	.844	0.7	3.4	4.1	5.4	1.7	0.2	2.9	3.0	25.8
2	Jameer Nelson	2008-09	26	42	42	1309	7.3	14.6	.503	2.3	5.0	.453	2.4	2.7	.887	0.6	3.4	4.0	6.2	1.4	0.1	2.3	3.4	19.3
3	Rajon Rondo	2008-09	22	80	80	2642	5.2	10.3	.505	0.2	0.7	.313	2.3	3.7	.642	1.4	4.3	5.7	9.0	2.0	0.1	2.8	2.6	13.0
4	Mo Williams	2008-09	26	81	81	2834	6.7	14.3	.467	2.3	5.3	.436	2.6	2.9	.912	0.6	2.9	3.5	4.2	0.9	0.1	2.3	2.7	18.3

Advanced:

Rk	Player	Season	Age	G	MP	PER	TS%	eFG%	ORB%	DRB%	TRB%	AST%	STL%	BLK%	TOV%	USG%	ORtg	DRtg	OWS	DWS	WS
1	Gilbert Arenas	2006-07	25	74	2942	24.0	.565	.484	2.3	11.1	6.6	27.2	2.4	0.3	11.2	31.4	115	111	9.6	1.5	11.1
2	Jameer Nelson	2008-09	26	42	1309	20.6	.612	.580	1.8	10.5	6.2	32.1	2.0	0.2	12.6	23.2	121	103	3.9	2.1	6.0
3	Rajon Rondo	2008-09	22	80	2642	18.8	.543	.514	4.8	13.9	9.6	39.7	3.0	0.3	19.2	19.2	114	101	4.7	5.0	9.7
4	Mo Williams	2008-09	26	81	2834	17.2	.588	.548	2.1	9.4	5.9	20.1	1.3	0.3	12.7	23.4	115	106	5.9	3.6	9.4

Okay, well, in the PG battle, a healthy Gilbert Arenas obviously has the advantage. While Rajon Rondo and Jameer Nelson are still "breaking out" it's hard to imagine that either would mimic the production that Arenas, completely healthy would provide. However, remember, basketball is a team sport, certainly the Wizards would have the advantage if all other positions were a wash. While Williams of the four is the weakest PG performance wise, we also have to remember the roles each has on the team, Rondo and Williams have more facilitator roles whereas Arenas is the go-to guy. Nelson is a little harder to place as he's somewhere between the two.

Let's move on to the off-guard position:

Per 36:

Rk	Player	Season	Age	G	GS	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
1	Ray Allen	2008-09	33	79	79	2876	6.2	13.0	.480	2.5	6.1	.409	3.0	3.1	.952	0.8	2.7	3.5	2.7	0.9	0.2	1.7	2.0	17.9
2	Vince Carter	2008-09	32	80	80	2946	7.2	16.4	.437	1.8	4.8	.385	4.1	5.0	.817	0.9	4.1	5.0	4.6	1.0	0.5	2.0	2.9	20.3
3	Mike Miller	2008-09	28	73	47	2356	4.0	8.4	.482	1.3	3.4	.378	1.7	2.3	.732	1.1	6.3	7.4	5.0	0.5	0.5	2.2	2.1	11.0
4	Delonte West	2008-09	25	64	64	2152	4.8	10.4	.457	1.5	3.8	.399	1.5	1.8	.833	0.5	2.9	3.4	3.8	1.6	0.2	1.5	2.1	12.6

Advanced:

Rk	Player	Season	Age	G	MP	PER	TS%	eFG%	ORB%	DRB%	TRB%	AST%	STL%	BLK%	TOV%	USG%	ORtg	DRtg	OWS	DWS	WS
1	Ray Allen	2008-09	33	79	2876	17.3	.624	.575	2.9	8.6	5.9	12.6	1.3	0.4	10.4	20.8	122	106	7.3	3.6	11.0
2	Vince Carter	2008-09	32	80	2946	19.3	.545	.493	3.0	13.8	8.3	23.7	1.5	1.1	9.8	26.8	112	112	5.6	1.8	7.4
3	Mike Miller	2008-09	28	73	2356	13.8	.588	.559	3.5	21.2	12.0	21.6	0.7	1.0	19.1	14.5	112	112	2.8	1.4	4.2
4	Delonte West	2008-09	25	64	2152	14.1	.559	.530	1.8	9.2	5.6	16.6	2.4	0.5	12.0	16.7	114	104	2.9	3.3	6.2

I understand that Mike Miller had his confidence shot last season and was plagued throughout the year by injuries, but even if we took the year before when he was healthy and playing well, the advantage still goes to Orlando in this matchup. Delonte West of course is the defensive presence on the Cavs so obviously he's fairly far down in the pecking order, but he does make a difference. Carter has been playing well despite all the nay-sayers and his age, as has Ray Allen, though Allen has been somewhat less consistent since joining the Celtics, but he is also the third option behind both Pierce and Garnett, so he's not getting a huge number of touches. While Miller adds a lot in other aspects other than scoring, he's also known for not being very good defensively. Definitely not making the difference for me here.

Onwards to the SF position:

Per 36:

Rk	Player	Season	Age	G	GS	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
1	Caron Butler	2008-09	28	67	67	2585	6.8	15.1	.453	0.9	2.9	.310	4.8	5.6	.858	1.6	4.1	5.8	4.0	1.5	0.3	2.9	2.3	19.4
2	LeBron James	2008-09	24	81	81	3054	9.3	19.0	.489	1.6	4.5	.344	7.0	9.0	.780	1.2	6.0	7.2	6.9	1.6	1.1	2.8	1.6	27.2
3	Paul Pierce	2008-09	31	81	81	3035	6.4	14.0	.457	1.4	3.6	.391	5.4	6.6	.830	0.7	4.8	5.4	3.5	0.9	0.3	2.7	2.5	19.7
4	Mickael Pietrus	2008-09	26	54	25	1329	4.8	11.5	.413	2.2	6.0	.359	2.1	3.0	.709	1.2	3.6	4.8	1.8	0.8	0.7	1.5	3.4	13.8

Advanced:

Rk	Player	Season	Age	G	MP	PER	TS%	eFG%	ORB%	DRB%	TRB%	AST%	STL%	BLK%	TOV%	USG%	ORtg	DRtg	OWS	DWS	WS
1	Caron Butler	2008-09	28	67	2585	18.8	.552	.482	5.2	13.8	9.4	19.7	2.2	0.6	14.3	25.9	108	113	3.4	1.1	4.4
2	LeBron James	2008-09	24	81	3054	31.7	.591	.530	4.3	19.0	11.9	38.0	2.4	2.4	11.0	33.8	122	99	13.3	6.3	19.6
3	Paul Pierce	2008-09	31	81	3035	17.7	.582	.508	2.4	15.4	9.2	16.3	1.4	0.7	13.8	25.4	112	104	5.4	4.8	10.2
4	Mickael Pietrus	2008-09	26	54	1329	11.6	.538	.507	3.8	10.9	7.5	8.0	1.2	1.3	10.6	18.4	106	104	1.0	2.1	3.0

All of the starting forwards here save Pietrus are All-Stars. However, it's hard to dispute that LeBron would be in the best shape here, simply because he's LeBron. It's hard to argue against one of the best players in the league despite how good both Butler and Pierce are. Advantage here always goes to the Cavs so long as LeBron is healthy and playing.

At the PF slot:

Per 36:

Rk	Player	Season	Age	G	GS	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
1	Kevin Garnett	2008-09	32	57	57	1772	8.0	15.0	.531	0.0	0.2	.250	2.3	2.7	.841	1.6	8.3	9.9	2.9	1.3	1.4	1.8	2.6	18.3
2	Antawn Jamison	2008-09	32	81	81	3096	7.8	16.8	.468	1.3	3.7	.351	4.0	5.3	.754	2.3	6.1	8.4	1.8	1.1	0.3	1.5	2.5	20.9
3	Rashard Lewis	2008-09	29	79	79	2859	6.0	13.7	.439	2.8	7.0	.397	2.8	3.4	.836	1.2	4.5	5.7	2.6	1.0	0.6	2.0	2.4	17.6
4	Anderson Varejao	2008-09	26	81	42	2306	4.2	7.9	.536	0.0	0.0	.000	2.4	3.9	.616	2.6	6.5	9.1	1.3	1.2	1.0	1.2	3.7	10.8

Rk	Player	Season	Age	G	MP	PER	TS%	eFG%	ORB%	DRB%	TRB%	AST%	STL%	BLK%	TOV%	USG%	ORtg	DRtg	OWS	DWS	WS
1	Kevin Garnett	2008-09	32	57	1772	21.2	.563	.532	5.6	26.7	16.6	14.7	1.9	3.1	10.1	23.4	112	98	3.0	4.1	7.0
2	Antawn Jamison	2008-09	32	81	3096	20.6	.549	.507	7.2	20.5	13.7	9.1	1.6	0.7	7.1	25.9	114	113	6.5	1.6	8.1
3	Rashard Lewis	2008-09	29	79	2859	16.8	.580	.540	3.7	13.9	8.9	12.5	1.5	1.3	11.6	22.0	113	103	4.7	4.9	9.6
4	Anderson Varejao	2008-09	26	81	2306	14.6	.565	.536	8.9	20.6	15.0	5.4	1.8	2.3	11.5	14.2	116	100	3.2	4.5	7.7

As well as Antawn Jamison has played, you can't really match the two-way intensity that Kevin Garnett brings to the floor. While his numbers have suffered, you have to realize that he now has Paul Pierce and Ray Allen to carry much of the offensive load on the team for him, so he's not required to do as much. The impact from Garnett is made mostly on the defensive end, and I find that Jamison and Lewis are a wash. Remember that Jamison played this previous year so well partially due to Arenas being out, he's not going to get as many touches if Arenas is back.

Finally the C position:

Per 36:

Rk	Player	Season	Age	G	GS	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
1	Brendan Haywood	2007-08	28	80	80	2228	5.1	9.7	.528	0.0	0.0		3.5	4.8	.735	4.4	4.9	9.3	1.1	0.5	2.1	1.7	3.5	13.7
2	Dwight Howard	2008-09	23	79	79	2821	7.1	12.5	.572	0.0	0.0	.000	6.4	10.8	.594	4.3	9.7	13.9	1.4	1.0	2.9	3.1	3.4	20.7
3	Shaquille O'Neal	2008-09	36	75	75	2252	8.2	13.4	.609	0.0	0.0	.000	4.9	8.3	.595	3.0	7.1	10.1	2.0	0.8	1.7	2.7	4.0	21.3
4	Kendrick Perkins	2008-09	24	76	76	2253	4.4	7.6	.577	0.0	0.0	.000	1.5	2.6	.600	3.3	6.6	9.9	1.5	0.4	2.4	2.6	4.0	10.4

Advanced:

Rk	Player	Season	Age	G	MP	PER	TS%	eFG%	ORB%	DRB%	TRB%	AST%	STL%	BLK%	TOV%	USG%	ORtg	DRtg	OWS	DWS	WS
1	Brendan Haywood	2007-08	28	80	2228	18.3	.582	.528	14.0	16.4	15.2	5.2	0.7	5.0	12.9	17.3	119	109	4.7	1.8	6.6
2	Dwight Howard	2008-09	23	79	2821	25.4	.600	.572	13.8	29.5	21.8	7.3	1.4	5.9	15.1	26.1	113	95	6.2	7.6	13.9
3	Shaquille O'Neal	2008-09	36	75	2252	22.3	.623	.609	10.1	22.3	16.4	8.9	1.1	3.5	13.6	24.2	117	109	5.9	2.3	8.2
4	Kendrick Perkins	2008-09	24	76	2253	13.2	.591	.577	11.5	21.4	16.7	6.5	0.5	5.3	23.1	14.8	105	100	1.1	4.4	5.5

It's hard to not give Dwight Howard and the Magic the advantage at this position. Even if Haywood replicates his performance from before his injury, it's not really even close, even an aging Shaq can be more effective than Haywood.

Now I can't feasibly say that the Washington bench is significantly better if better at all than those of Cleveland, Boston, or Orlando, so if we presume those and coaching a wash, the Wizards still fall behind Orlando, and I would put them behind both Cleveland and Boston as well. At best, they can hope for the playoffs at 4th seed, and therefore not have to face one of those top three in the first round.