I wrote in September that perhaps there would be no worthy center to start for the West in the All-Star Game.
But this isn't the way I want to see that solved. Do it on the court, not with the ballot.
When the All-Star ballot came out Tuesday, Phoenix power forward Amar'e Stoudemire strangely was listed as a center. Yes, Stoudemire has played center before, but he's started all eight games for Suns this season at power forward, with Channing Frye being the starting center.
It is true the ballot, which was selected by six media members from around the country, had to be decided upon before the season began in order to provide time for printing. But it has been apparent since at least September that Frye would Phoenix's starting center, with Stoudemire at power forward.
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Anyone who has watched the L.A. Clippers so far this season pretty much has the same question: what's up with Chris Kaman?
The guy's been playing some ball and doesn't seem to resemble the player of past years. But according to coach Mike Dunleavy, nothing at all is up.
"The only difference with him is he's shooting the ball," Dunleavy said before the Clippers dismantled the Warriors, 118-90, on Friday night. "And I mean literally shooting the ball. He's always been able to shoot the ball but always had this kind of mentality of 'I can't take too many shots,' or 'I need to get closer to the basket.' "
LOS ANGELES -- Rebounding is all that Suns' head coach Alvin Gentry has been talking about during the preseason, and with his team being an undersized bunch who would rather try to run you off the floor than stand toe-to-toe and slug it out, that's completely understandable.
But the emphasis on taking care of the boards had its consequences in the team's season opener on Wednesday, as Phoenix -- yes, the extended remix of the Seven Seconds or Less Suns -- managed just two fast break points in their game against the Clippers.
The ultimate result, however, was a positive one. The Suns' focus on rebounding enabled them to hang with a big and talented Clippers' front line, and pull out a hard-fought, last-second 109-107 road victory in Los Angeles.
If you've seen one NBA mixtape on YouTube, you've seen them all, right? Most of them are just flashy dunk highlights put to a profanity-laced rap beat. But Chris Kaman is a different kind of cat, both on the court and off, and in hindsight, it shouldn't have been a surprise to see that his YouTube channel doesn't feature any basketball at all.
What does it feature? Try a .50 caliber rifle and municipal-grade fireworks -- all being used in his backyard. No, really -- video evidence is after the jump, as well as his interview with Elie Seckbach in which he discusses his explosion-filled and bullet-riddled summer vacation.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
For the most part, NBA preseason games don't carry much weight, but on Oct. 20, the Los Angeles Clippers will take the Staples Center court to face one of the best teams in Europe when they meet Maccabi Tel-Aviv.
It will be the game of the year for thousands of children as the Clippers are donating all the money generated from that night to the world's largest orphanage, Migdal Ohr. Based in Northern Israel, Migdal Ohr takes care of more than 7,000 orphans. But the Clippers are not the only ones doing amazing things for the orphanage. Two days prior to the Clippers' game, the New York Knicks will host a similar event to benefit Migdal Ohr.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
Kobe Bryant is the national spokesperson for After School All Stars, a nation-wide, one-of-a-kind, after-school activity for students living in rough areas. From sports to music to arts, After School All Stars is free. In this FanHouse Exclusive we visit the Lakers' practice facility in El Segundo, where we catch up with Kobe, his teammates Sasha Vujacic and Derek Fisher, and two of Kobe's friends from the Clippers -- Eric Gordon and Chris Kaman. The stars were there as 2K Sports handed ASAS a check for $25,000 and set up video games for the students and basketball stars.
The NBA FanHouse team has been posting previews for all 30 teams prior to the start of the 2009-10 season. Along with each preview they examine a player to watch. In the case of the Los Angeles Clippers, Tom Ziller examined Eric Gordon. In keeping up with the theme, I decided to highlight a bench player on the Clippers who might turn into an impact fantasy player this season.
From a fantasy perspective the Clippers are an interesting team. On paper they have one of the more fantasy-friendly rotations with six players currently being drafted in the top 125 picks, according to Mock Draft Central -- Marcus Camby (ADP: 40.12), Baron Davis (ADP: 46.64), Eric Gordon (ADP: 79.41), Blake Griffin (ADP: 81.82), Chris Kaman (ADP: 97.18) and Al Thornton (ADP: 126.26).
A season ago, the Clippers began the year with a renewed sense of optimism. After losing team staples Elton Brand and Corey Maggette to free agency, the club didn't stand pat -- they went out and got some pieces they hoped would make them better.
Well, things didn't exactly work put as planed. Injuries derailed things fairly quickly, and instead of Baron Davis being the one to revive the franchise, he was merely a bystander who watched the team post its worst won-loss record in nine years.
There was a bright side to last year's debacle, however, as it landed the Clippers the number one overall pick in the draft, which they used to select Blake Griffin. With a healthy group to start the season, and some smart tweaks to the roster, L.A. once again has reason to be cautiously optimistic.
Every Tuesday this offseason, two of our NBA experts will go at it with a Debate in the Paint. This week, the topic is which team will be the most improved.
The Los Angeles Clippers are going to be pretty good this year. Yeah, OK, so my heart just skipped a little bit typing that. But I think they're going to be OK.
Just how good of a season are the Clippers going to have? Well, I'm thinking they might end up being the most improved team in the league, and, yes, that includes the Washington Wizards, who figure to improve a lot.
Both teams won just 19 games a year ago. But in 2009-10, I'm calling that the Clippers will be knocking on the playoff door. The Wizards might also. But it would be a greater achievement for the Clippers to make the playoffs in the Western Conference than the Wizards in the East.
I wrote in September that perhaps there would be no worthy center to start for the West in the All-Star Game.
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Anyone who has watched the L.A. 
LOS ANGELES -- Rebounding is all that 
If you've seen one 
For the most part, NBA preseason games don't carry much weight, but on Oct. 20, the 
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos. 
The 
FanHouse 
Every Tuesday this offseason, two of our NBA experts will go at it with a 
