Heat Might Take A Flier On Grant Hill If, When The Lockout Ends

I do believe there will be an NBA season, just like I used to believe in Santa. It might be a shortened season once again but I don’t think the players or owners are that stupid to let a season go to waste.

If and when the lockout ends, the Miami Heat will be looking to improve on their current roster. Here’s one possibility that would actually make the Heat a more likable team. The addition of Grant Hill. The Heat are looking for a perimeter defender and either Shane Battier or Hill would fit the bill according to a report in the Miami Herald.

If the Heat cannot sign preferred choices Shane Battier, Grant Hill or Tayshaun Prince postlockout, Miami will consider Michael Redd and Tracy McGrady, among others.

If I had to pick out of those four I would take the first three listed above than the last two. For this reason only. Prince, Hill, or Battier don’t need the ball in their hands and don’t require many shots. McGrady and Redd probably still think of themselves as starter material. I believe both of them could help a team, but not one with Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, or LeBron James on it already.     

 

Vince Carter To Get Bought Out In Phoenix?

A blurb by the Arizona Republic’s Paul Coro says that the Phoenix Suns are expected to buy out Vince Carter’s contract  instead of trying to seek a trade for the veteran swingman. The buyout is would be around $4 million.

That would be a smart move by the Suns as Carter isn’t even a shell of the high-flying showman he once was. To me he hasn’t been the same since almost leading the Toronto Raptors to the Eastren Conference finlas. It would be hard for Phoenix to find a trade partner for Carter since his value has went down the toilet and couldn’t be a consistent producer for the run and gun Suns and couldn’t run the pick and roll in Orlando with Dwight Howard.

I do believe there will be suitors for Carter if he is bought out. Maybe a contender that could use some scoring off the bench (hello Chicago) would be a good fit for him as long as he doesn’t still fashion himself as a starter. The last contending team he played for (Orlando) he disappeared in the playoffs.

I look for him to stay in the league on reputation alone and some team will hope that they can catch lightning in a bottle.     

D’Antoni Is A Bad Late Game Coach

New York Knicks head man Mike D’Antoni is not a bad coach. Not by any means. He can get your team to the playoffs, rack up plenty of wins in the regular season, and plays an exciting style of basketball. His only problem is that he’s a bad late game coach.

Watching the Knicks melt down in the first two games in the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Boston Celtics reminded me of when he was coaching the Phoenix Suns. Suns fans probably know what I’m talking about and were probably having flashbacks watching the Knicks give away the first two games to the Celtics.

For all the flash the Suns had, they constantly found ways to lose to the Spurs, among others, in the playoffs. The Suns were always there in the end but found ways to lose it. Credit D’Antoni for that. He wasn’t the greatest late game tactician. That flaw reared it’s ugly head in games 1 and 2.

In game 1 Amare’ Stoudamire was punishing Kevin Garnett in the fourth quarter, but for some reason he didn’t see the ball down the stretch. Now if Stoudamire is the hot hand you keep going to it, don’t you? I know I would, but I’m only a Playstation coach so how would I know. All plays should’ve been ran through Stoudamire, save for Toney Douglas’ three pointer. Then you let Carmelo Anthony settle for a 30 footer for the last shot. Take your chances for overtime. I didn’t watch much of game 2, but I saw enough to come to the realization that D’Antoni doesn’t make the best choices late in the game.

The Knocks will be a force in the Eastern Conference in the years to come, whether D’Antoni will be there to see it through I don’t know. I’m not calling for his job, but the Knicks are destined to become the new age version of the 1980’s Milwaukee Bucks. Win a lot of games, but won’t win big in the playoffs.    

Steve Nash Throws Up The White Flag

Phoenix Suns point man Steve Nash seems to be setting up his fans for a letdown this year. Before the season even begins he’s picking the Suns not to make the playoffs. Come on Steve, your supposed to be optimistic. Even Rodney Stuckey and Michael Beasley say things like “on paper we’re the best”. And you come out with this statement: “To be honest, if I was outside this picture and a betting man, I would probably pick us to be outside of the playoffs considering all the changes and the new guys.”

“Maybe we need to take a step back, regroup, be a little bit more patient, build a really good team and see how good we can be later in the year instead of jumping out of the gate and be like, ‘Oh, we’ve got to finish top two or three in the West and give ourselves a chance to win the West and go to the Finals.’ That stuff can come if we really improve, but we can’t put that type of pressure on ourselves right away because we are a new team.”

He’s basically telling the fans, even though we made the Western Conference finals last year, we lost one key guy (Amare Stoudemire), we have some new guys and some young ones. We might not be that good, so please support us. It could be a cry for help or a backhanded way to force a trade. Nash isn’t getting any younger and I suppose he would like to compete for a title. But don’t sell your team short before the season begins.

Look for Stoudemire to have a monster playoff

Yes,the NBA playoffs have started and its basketball til you fall.The story I’m interested in for this year’s is if Phoenix Suns forward Amare Stoudemire has a big postseason.I suspect he will.First,he played exceptionally well after the trade deadline after he found out he wouldn’t be traded and could finally concentrate on playing ball.Secondly,he knows if he has a big playoff,it could result in a big payoff. I suspect that he plays with a chip on his shoulder and nearly gets Phoenix to the Western confernce finals,while putting up big numbers.I could be wrong here,but I say he puts this team on his back.If he does he could be laughing all the way to the bank this summer.