All systems go for Celtics/Cavs; Portland picks its point guard
With no more preseason games and just a few days until the NBA regular season starts, all that’s left to do is iron out some position battles and figure out who among the banged-up is healthy enough to suit up for Opening Night. There was an outside chance that Shaq, among others, would be suspended for the Cavs/Celtics opener after he left the bench during Mo Williams and Shelden Williams‘ altercation a few nights ago. But the NBA ruled that since the scrap happened technically at halftime, guys who left the bench won’t be punished … Ray Allen probably won’t miss the Cavs/Celts game, but he might only see half of it. Ray caught an elbow above the eye from Kendrick Perkins in practice on Saturday and had to be stitched up … So apparently there’s been a little snag in that whole plan to make Anthony Randolph into the next KG and hand him the Warriors’ franchise: For starters, Randolph has knee and back issues that have bothered him throughout the preseason. And then Nellie says that even if he was healthy, Randolph would start the regular season coming off the bench behind Corey Maggette — yes, Corey Maggette — at power forward. “When [Randolph] does the things that we need him to do and plays at a high level, he’s going to be getting playing time,” Nelson said. “It’s hard to keep him off (the court). But he’s going to have to be evaluated by his number of rebounds as probably the main thing.” … In another surprise move, Andre Miller will come off the bench behind Steve Blake when the Blazers open the season against Denver. It really shouldn’t be a surprise since Nate McMillan said from Day One that Blake would be the starter; we just assumed Miller’s talent would eventually win him the job. Others have predicted from Day One that this Miller-to-Portland thing was a mistake that will throw off the Blazers’ chemistry, and now all the pieces are in place for exactly that to happen … Al Thornton and Rasual Butler haven’t settled their fight for the starting small forward spot on the Clippers. Even though Eric Gordon will start at the two, we’d go with Butler to have another shooter on the floor, and let Thornton be the lead scorer on the second unit … The Bucks haven’t named a starting power forward: the competition is between Hakim Warrick, Kurt Thomas and Ersan Ilyasova. Honestly, that sounds more interesting as a reality show than a NBA storyline. The young cat from Philly, the might-be-crazy old guy from Texas, and the kid from Turkey. Stick them in a house in Milwaukee and see what happens. Working title: “What The Hell Did You Just Say?” … Kwame Brown is dealing with a hand injury that he’s going to try to play through when Detroit opens the season against Memphis. Kwame couldn’t catch the ball with two healthy hands; if he’s working at half-strength, he might as well put “17″ and “B. Edwards” on the back of his jersey … We’re out like replacement refs …
October 25th, 2009 at 1:14 am
AO says:
Is there something wrong with the comment section or am I really first?
October 25th, 2009 at 1:15 am
Collaboro says:
ooh no..B getting heat from the City already…snap
October 25th, 2009 at 1:25 am
Octopus Jonny says:
I’m from MKE, and I LOL’d @ “What the Hell Did You Just Say?”
INSTANT CLASSIC.
October 25th, 2009 at 1:33 am
netstar says:
Don Nelson needs to be replaced. He has gone cuckoo for cocopuffs and is drowning the golden state franchise
October 25th, 2009 at 1:44 am
luckylester says:
Don Nelson has a plan… to fuck with as many players as possible. He’s winning!
October 25th, 2009 at 1:54 am
BENNYHILL says:
I saw him on TV the other day (Nelson) and he really looks like he should be spending his days at “Shady Acres”, he has clean lost the plot.
As soon as he breaks Lenny Wilkens’ record they need to show him the door
October 25th, 2009 at 2:55 am
Gunner J. Matthews says:
Damn………….
Thats insulting to everyone with two working hands
October 25th, 2009 at 3:40 am
85wasagreatyear says:
just read this from nba.com, thought it was pretty interesting
• Boston named Tyronn Lue director of basketball development.
October 25th, 2009 at 6:17 am
Mamba says:
I cant wait to see how Anthony Randolph turns out. There’s been way too many athlectic PF’s with loads of potential that never turn out. Stromile Swift, Darius Miles, Jonathan Bender….
http://onlydopemusic.com for electro, hip hop, rnb!!
October 25th, 2009 at 6:20 am
chief youngblood says:
I dont’ think doubts about andre miller and the trailblazers chemistry are unmerited , shit i’m worried the trail blazers are one my favorite teams in the west and very much in my nba live fold ( along with the new look rockets , the wizards , and bucks ) steve blake is better for that team. And as I guy who gets to watch most Hornets games all season I wouldn’t put too much stock in Sual-Bop, we have the weakest 2 and 3 of any playoff team this year but we did last year too. he’ll break your heart , not in the same way peja will but he’ll break it none the less . but who knows he’ll have less pressure to make shots . we wanted him to be fucking joe johnson
October 25th, 2009 at 7:12 am
TJ says:
Steve Blake is going to kill that team. He’s the type of player that coaches irrationally love. All the players can see that and will start to resent him.
October 25th, 2009 at 8:27 am
j yosef says:
Don really isnt that crazy… id plug Corey Maggette into my 4 spot, on 2k10 that is
October 25th, 2009 at 8:51 am
AB_40 says:
brendan wright was gonna start anyway if he were healthy. when randolph has a 1 per 1.5 or 2 minutes rebound rate he’s gonna play. this team is going nowhere. if you’d put this team and that thing they call a team in sacramento together you still wouldn’t have a championship contender. the pacific division is dead
October 25th, 2009 at 11:07 am
steven says:
The only reason Blake is starting in Pdx is to keep Roy happy. But I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the second unit led by ‘Dre will make Fernandez, Outlaw, Ghostface, and Webster consistently playing some Man-sized basketball, so y’all better watch out. Plus, ‘Dre is “saying” all the right things. Dude’s been professional his whole life so stop hating on the quiet kid.
October 25th, 2009 at 11:17 am
jzsmoove says:
the NBA found a loophole for Shaq to play in the season opener. Keep a watch on this if other players does the same thing down the road if they get suspended or not. This halftime thing is another league shenanigan.
Start Al Thornton. Ive seen this dude beast Bosh who is supposed to be our franchise player, with finesse and power moves. And even just battling for loose balls. It was upsetting to see this live, right in front of your face while rooting for the home team but instead I found respect for Thornton after that. Dude is a player.
Start Ilyasova cuz frankly who cares?
October 25th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Eduardo says:
Have you guys ever heard about Kevin Widemond, former University Of San Jacinto Guard? Man, he was playing here in Portugal(I’m from Portugal by the way) and he died this afternoon with a cardiac arrest. Sad news for the basketball world. He was just 23 man, damn.
R.I.P. Kevin.
October 25th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
billbone says:
Yeah i mean braylon was only amazing at michigan. But i guess whoever wrote this is probably better.
October 25th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
That's whats up says:
billbone – sounds like you just dropped Braylon’s balls yourself
…call yourself ballbone form now on
October 25th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
KCL says:
dime please stop starting rumors that arnt there. Miller has repeatedly said he’s fine and wont start anything coming off the bench. He’ll take the starting role once he builds chemistry with Brandon, the only reason Blake is starting is because of the chemisty he has with Brandon and Nate doesn’t want to ruin it, I dont see how any chemistry can be ruined if your running the same lineup that won you 55+ games last year
October 25th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Eduardo says:
Have you guys ever heard about Kevin Widemond, former University Of San Jacinto Guard? Man, he was playing here in Portugal(I’m from Portugal by the way) and he died this afternoon with a cardiac arrest. Sad news for the basketball world. He was just 23 man, damn.
R.I.P. Kevin.
October 25th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Baby Huey says:
Hey Dime, the Blazers start the season against Houston, not Denver….please feel free to check a schedule before writing the daily smack.
October 25th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Tim says:
what you guys think of my fantasy team:
Joe Johnson
Durant
Arenas
Josh Smith
Amar’e
T Duncan
Lamarcus Aldridge
Al Horford
Mo Williams
Blake Griffin
Tyrus Thomas
Richard Jefferson
Antonio McDyess
Tyreke Evans
October 25th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
specialguydurr! says:
@KCL- the Blazers won 54 games last year, but I agree with some of the people saying Andre is gonna bring this team down. He has only had 3 weeks to run plays, and get to know the team. I think in the long run his style of play will be better for the team, but if he comes off the bench for awhile, so what? He’s finally on a winning team, which will probably mean more to him in the long run, than his personal stats do. If not, then this team doesn’t need him.
October 25th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Pet Society Help says:
Corey Maggette #1 on the NBA’s underachiever list
October 26th, 2009 at 12:06 am
DoctorGrey says:
Andre Miller is waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy better than Steve Blake. But being 2nd stringer isn’t so bad. Being a starter never really guarantees the number of minutes you’ll be playing… or who would end the game…or if you’re just going to start for the next few minutes and relinquish the position the rest of the game.
I guess it’s all about the pride thing, of being called a starter. Just about Egos.
(I was really really hoping Andre Miller becomes the starter…now I’m just praying he gets to play more minutes than Blake even if he’s a 2nd stringer…for Fantasy purposes.)
October 26th, 2009 at 6:13 am
Dean says:
I KNEW BLAKE WOULD BE THE STARTER!!!
He’s better overall than Miller. He can hit the 3, he can dish. He’s a better team player, he’s more into his teammates than Miller.
A PG CANNOT BE A LONER!
October 26th, 2009 at 6:14 am
Dean says:
Also, I was saying on here about Blake/Miller.
It’s not who starts, it’s whom that finishes or is in there when it matters most.
Steve Blake will be in there.
October 26th, 2009 at 6:18 am
Dean says:
Very sad to hear about Kevin Widemond!!
RIP
October 26th, 2009 at 10:53 am
Taj says:
LOL at the Braylon/Kwame comment…
October 26th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Chicagorilla says:
Does it matter, Blake and Miller both have been clowned by Nate Robinson or Derrick Rose to the point of embarassment. I bet Nasty Nate and his jungle of love can’t wait til he faces Blake and Miller, two of the slowest PG’s in the L.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Chicagorilla says:
although Blake did get Robinson back once. Nate got him twice. in the same game.
October 26th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
specialguydurr! says:
@chicagorilla-sorry about that beatdown the blazers gave you last year, I guess you guys are still feelin’ that one.