Last year we debuted the “Highs and Lows” system — previewing the NBA season by predicting the respective ceiling and basement for each team. Same theme, different season…

Added: Carlos Arroyo, Quentin Richardson, Shavlik Randolph

Lost: Jamario Moon, Luther Head, Mark Blount Read More »

While it seems many people could care less that the Heat signed Carlos Arroyo yesterday to be their backup point guard, the deal only goes to signify to me once again that the role of the backup point guard is perhaps one of the most important in the League. Guys like Travis Best, Greg Anthony, Jacque Vaughn, Lindsey Hunter and Anthony Johnson have made a career out of it, and the best teams in the NBA take note. So with that in mind, here are the Top 5 best backup points this season: Read More »

Nothing against LeBron and Josh Childress, but the unique selling point of last night’s Cavs/Olympiakos (Greece) game was Shaq vs. “Baby Shaq.” If you don’t remember, Baby Shaq is Sofoklis Schortsanitis, the big (6-9, 300-something) Tractor Traylor-looking dude who once upon a time gave Team USA problems but has since turned into the Blazers-era Shawn Kemp of the Euroleague, as his weight is a constant issue and sometimes gets in the way of his considerable skills … Big Shaq got the best of this one, putting up 12 points and five boards next to Baby Shaq’s four and five. Read More »

Similar to the Vegas/Orlando summer leagues, you don’t want to read too much into the FIBA Americas tournament as far as projecting how its standouts will do in the upcoming NBA season, especially when Team USA sat this one out. But it’s hard not to be impressed by Leandro Barbosa’s recent work and predict big things for him this season. In leading Brazil to the tournament gold medal yesterday, as well as a spot in the 2010 World Championships, Barbosa averaged 21.1 points on 55% shooting from the field. It was a down year for Barbosa in ‘08-09. Read More »

NBA training camp is still a few weeks away, so Saturday was all about college football. Some basketball-related notes from the day’s action: Greg Paulus lost his first game as Syracuse’s starting QB, racking up 167 yards on 19-of-31 attempts with one touchdown against Minnesota, but he threw a crucial pick in overtime (’Cuse was also 1-for-12 in converting third downs); Javier Arenas (Gilbert’s cousin) had a handful of kick/punt returns in fifth-ranked Alabama’s win over No. 7 Virginia Tech, but didn’t break any for a long gain … With Ramon Sessions spoken for, the only two point guards anybody is looking out for in free agency are Allen Iverson and Ray Felton, and the former’s eventual destination likely has a big impact on the latter’s next move. Read More »

On Wednesday, Ricky Rubio talked about his decision to put the Wolves on his waiting list and stay in Spain: “Going to Minnesota would have just complicated my life a lot. It was a risk,” Rubio told the Associated Press, adding that “the deal with Minnesota had too many obstacles.” (Stephon Marbury co-signed on that “complicated my life” part, sending his well wishes from Planet Lovetron.) Come 2011, though, the biggest obstacle standing between Rubio coming to the Wolves might not be his contract buyout, but Jonny Flynn. Now that he’s got the starting PG job, Flynn has as good a shot at anybody at winning Rookie of the Year. Read More »

It seems that all there are always rumors surrounding Carlos Arroyo - and none of them are ever true. Over a month ago there was one that saw Arroyo possibly ending up with the Sixers, and then over the weekend one that had him landing with the Bulls. But while neither of these seem to be actually coming to frution, here are five teams that should sign Arroyo this season. Read More »

The Ricky Rubio song-and-dance has turned into the Michael Myers of the NBA offseason; it just won’t stay down. Last week, Rubio was reportedly going to sign a six-year contract with Regal FC Barcelona (Spain) — where he’d be teammates with J.C. Navarro, Terrence Morris, Fran Vasquez, and the immortal Boniface N’Dong — that had a reasonable buyout option in 2011. Bad news for the Wolves, right? Not so fast. The Barcelona deal isn’t official yet, and in the meantime, Minnesota GM David Kahn has flown to Spain AGAIN trying to work something out. At this point, Kahn might as well buy a condo out there and sublease it when he’s not busy trying to convince Rubio to come to America. Read More »

Like we’ve said before, the offseason is prime time for supreme optimism and high expectations. In Chicago, you’ve got a lot of people pegging the Bulls as a Top-5 team in the East. And from Derrick Rose specifically, he’s gunning for the likes of Chris Paul, Tony Parker and Chauncey Billups sooner than you might have expected — not to mention eyeing the crowns atop Kobe and LeBron’s respective heads. Asked in a Chicago Sun-Times interview about his Year 2 goals, Rose said, “To be the best player in the League at my position, and hopefully be the best player in the NBA. There’s no point of playing basketball if you don’t want to be the best — or doing anything if you don’t want to be the best.” Read More »

Rick Pitino is buggin’. Still firmly in the eye of the storm surrounding his sex/extortion scandal (with all sorts of salacious terms like “FBI” and “adultery” and “psychological evaluation” and “blackmail” being thrown around daily), Pitino called a press conference at Louisville yesterday to wag his finger at the media Rafael Palmeiro-style for covering this story. “[What] I don’t understand is why you keep fostering this behavior. On a day where Ted Kennedy died, the news here in Louisville broke in with Karen Syper’s (the woman in question) audio and the tapes and detectives. That’s a pretty sad commentary on us.” Read More »