Well Derrick Rose had a nice day. He got paid and became a made man in Chicago if he wasn’t already one. Then in the capper, he methodically picked apart everyone’s Eastern Conference sleeper, Indiana, in Chicago’s 93-85 win. We felt like it was April and we were back in the first round of the playoffs again. Rose (12 points, nine assists) was destroying Darren Collison (1-for-7, six points), Psycho T was doing his bowling ball routine (24 points, 13 rebounds) and the Bulls’ defense was more suffocating than an only child’s mother, holding Indiana to 36 percent from the field. But there was one big difference: Richard Hamilton. Hamilton isn’t the player he once was, and yet on NBA TV last night, Chris Webber called him the most underrated move of the entire offseason. Last night, he had 13 points, six dimes and seemed to fit into the offense perfectly. When you combine that with Carlos Boozer playing like a man (24 points), Chicago was too much to handle … The play of the night might’ve been Joakim Noah‘s block on Hansbrough attempted dunk. If Hansbrough could jump, we might’ve called it one of the best blocks we’ve seen in the last few years … If Dallas’ new lineup doesn’t live up to expectations this year, we might be able to look back at the preseason as the initial sign. Oklahoma City beat the champs 87-83 last night and the game actually wasn’t even close. That makes them 2-0 against Dallas in the preseason, and while Dallas sat a few of their guys in both games, some moles are already surfacing. Russell Westbrook and James Harden were putting down Sportscenter-worthy reverses, but it was OKC’s work on the glass that ended it. They won the boards by 12 and with a slim fast Kendrick Perkins (nine points, eight boards) back doing his thing, the Mavs couldn’t do anything in the paint. Tyson Chandler anyone? … Remember Jerome Randle? We’ve been high on him ever since he was murdering cats at Cal, and he’s looking like he could be Dallas’ answer to J.J. Barea this year (17 last night) … We’re not even into games that actually count yet and Kenneth Faried (14 points) is already hanging all over the rim in Denver. The Nuggets beat down Phoenix by 17 behind 21 from Ty Lawson, but it was Faried providing the highlights with one dunk where he took of from the Rockies and another that he tipped in … What are the chances of a Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding situation going down in Washington this season? We thought Nick Young liked to chuck, but damn Jordan Crawford is probably even worse. With both guys pretty much playing for money and to cement their place in the league at the same position, they might outshoot the entire division. Young put up 10 shots in 16 minutes (made three of them for eight points) while Crawford was 6-for-21 for 18 points. One of those guys is going to get their right arm mysteriously smashed by a door sometime this season. Washington didn’t get blown out this time, but Philly still beat them. Everyone’s talking about John Wall (17 points) breaking out to become a star this year. But what about Jrue Holiday (24 points, six assists)? He’s going to be a stud real soon … JaVale McGee (20 points, nine rebounds) jumps. Too. High … Marcus Thornton (21 points) and Sacramento edged David Lee (30 points, 13 rebounds) and Golden State 95-91, probably because Golden State continuously went to Klay Thompson (2-for-15) … And Cleveland self-destructed in the final moments of their 90-89 home loss against Detroit. First, they threw away an inbounds pass. Then, they smacked the Hell out of Austin Daye (19 points), who hit both free throws to put the Pistons up in the final seconds. Finally, Luke Harangody got a WIDE OPEN short jumper and was way off. That’s what happens when you give it to a guy who’s played one minute all game for the final shot … Keep reading to read about why Ray Allen called out David West …
Ray Allen called out David West yesterday because he didn’t take less money to come to the Celtics. The league’s best three-point shooter ever sounded a little hurt and he has reason to be. No West probably equals no chip, and this was a partnership that had been brewing since last summer. Allen told ESPN: “Once it got down to the end, I think his ego kicked back in. He wanted the dollars. I guess it comes down to ‘What is a championship worth to you?’ In this instance, David West just couldn’t win. He goes to Indiana and he’s a gold digger. He goes to Boston and he’s a bandwagoner and wants to create a super team. He stays in New Orleans and his team sucks … Maybe Jesus is really close to committing his first sign against West because he’s been listening to SI’s Chris Mannix. Mannix went on WEEI in Boston and said he not only thinks the Cs are in trouble but that Miami, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and West’s boys at Indiana are all better than Boston … Memphis moved quick after they found out Darrell Arthur would be lost for the season. They’ve extended an offer sheet to Dante Cunningham and it’s believed to be for three years (with a team option on the final year) at around $6 million. Cunningham isn’t the athlete Arthur is – who regularly wrapped facials up and handed them out to opposing centers last year. But he’s smart and won’t screw anything up. We like the move and Charlotte would be wise to match it … Josh McRoberts doesn’t want to be called McBob. He mentioned it in an interview, saying he wasn’t even sure where it came from, “Some dumba– on a blog came up with it,” The next time McBob attempts to mitigate his potential nicknames, we’ll tell him a little tale about Big Baby and how that worked out. The world started calling Davis “Glen” for about 48 hours and then reverted to his true form. Shawn Marion now wants everyone to call him “World Champion.” That might be the worst of all … The new Nets announcer reminds us so much of the World Star Hip-Hop legend Riff Raff (That’s sarcasm in case you didn’t catch it). “Diamond Dave” could even pass for another YouTube rapper. We aren’t sure if all that is a good thing, but at the least we’ll check him – his name is David Diamante – and his hair (He hasn’t cut it since 1988.) out this season … Our man and cover boy from Dime #65, Baltimore’s Aquille Carr, is starting to narrow down his college list. Apparently, the schools showing him the most love are Seton Hall, Baylor, Loyola Marymount and Xavier … And Reggie Miller thinks it’ll be Oklahoma City and Miami in the Finals this season. He also believes Derrick Williams will win the Rookie of the Year. We can see the Finals prediction. In fact, we probably agree with him. But Williams isn’t winning ROY as long as he has to contend with Wesley Johnson, Michael Beasley and Kevin Love for minutes and shots … We’re out like Klay Thompson’s jumper.
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