FanHouse Fred Jones

PHOENIX -- Dwight Howard went back to his Superman gimmick from last year but, in the end, Nate Robinson proved to be Howard's Kryptonite, as he leaped over the defending champ in the final round to capture the 2009 Sprite Slam Dunk Championship.



Howard didn't take home the trophy, but he may just have gotten the fans' vote for injecting the most creativity into this year's contest.

With attention spans dwindling, we forego full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. Click here to go back in time.

The 1s

Cleveland at Cincinnati: So here are a few fun facts heading into the showdown of Team Zeros. Carson Palmer has more fumbles in three games (2) than touchdown passes (1). If you added up both Derek Anderson and Palmer's quarterback ratings, the number would still fall behind Philip Rivers, Kurt Warner and Jay Cutler, and would be just three points ahead of J.T. O'Sullivan and Tony Romo. Anderson's five interceptions are tied for the most in the league. Needless to say, this might not be the game you DVR in hopes of showing your son the proper way to play quarterback.

Pick: Cincinnati

Houston at Jacksonville: Is it fair to say that Houston is slowly taking the place of Arizona as "the team everyone picks as their preseason sleeper to the point that they're over-hyped and fall flat on their face?" The Texans limp in with the third worst quarterback in the league statistically and the third worst defense, going up against a Jacksonville team that just claimed their first victory in one of those "win or send all the ticket holders a free iPhone" games against the Colts. If there was ever a time for Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Jones to make some magic happen, it is at home against Houston who is giving up 170.5 yards a game on the ground. You know what they call what I just did? Blogger research. It's tough to come by so enjoy the smell.

Pick: Jacksonville

With attention spans dwindling, we forego full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. Click here to go back in time.

The 1s

Tennessee at Cincinnati: Well if this isn't the best matchup of crazy stories so far in the short NFL season I don't know what is. So far we've had a Bengals squad that showed next to zero life against the Ravens hosting a Titans team that upset the Jaguars last week. With Vince Young out two-to-four weeks, Kerry Collins will be the guy burdened with handing off to one of the hottest rookie running backs in the league, Chris Johnson (93 yards on the ground, 34 in the air with a TD). Hey, at least the Bengals announcers have learned they don't have to touch up on their Spanish!

Prediction: Titans

Green Bay at Detroit: Hey everyone, it's the Matt Millen Amusement Park Ride! Climb aboard, but we should tell you, the harness might fail and the ride hasn't been properly greased for eight years. No worries, the experience will most likely either start off strong and fail at the end, or not even get out of the gate. Yeah, tickets are high and the experience might stink, but if you don't get on the ride, you don't get to see the end result. Guys? Hey guys, where are you going?

Prediction: Packers

With the NBA trade deadline looming, Trade Machinations rounds up real rumors (and creates fake ones) of moves that'd make the NBA a better, brighter place.

There's a rumor floating around the New York Post that the Knicks came to the Bucks and offered Zach Randolph plus expiring contract former dunk champion Fred Jones for Dan Gadzuric, Charlie Bell and Bobby Simmons. And apparently the Bucks rejected it. Which seems odd to me.

Also, a league source told The News that the Bucks' owner, Milwaukee Sen. Herb Kohl, yesterday rejected a trade that would have sent Randolph and either Fred Jones or Jared Jeffries to Milwaukee for a package including Bobby Simmons, Charlie Bell and Dan Gadzuric, who all have long-term contracts.

Milwaukee GM Larry Harris, who may be let go at season's end, is eager to make a deal to help his struggling team and presented a similar package to Kohl in January. However, Kohl is reluctant to approve any trades Harris brings to him. The Knicks and Bucks have tried to orchestrate several trades this season, including one that would have featured Stephon Marbury.

Now, getting back Z-Bo and Jones wouldn't be anything that the Bucks should consider a "prize haul", but if you can get a player as talented as Randolph and in the process free up a huge chunk of salary, well, don't you want to make that deal, regardless of how much of a lame duck Larry Harris is? Don't get me wrong -- I'm the biggest Chuck Bell fan on the planet, and Simmons scored a bunch of points for the Clippers one time ... but you gotta make this deal. Bell's contract is great because he's locked up cheaply for a long time, but the Bucks don't start him. And Gadzuric averages less points and rebounds per game than millions he makes per year (five something). Simmons can't stay healthy and he's fairly one dimensional anyway (plus, he makes NINE million this year!!). Look, Randolph is crazy, but not this crazy.

Being the team player that he is, Jermaine O'Neal was kind enough to let the media know that he "would accept it" if the sinking ship Pacers decided to deal him to the Titanic Knicks.

There are some pretty key issues that would keep anything of this nature from going down. But first, it's certainly worth noting that there are some good reasons why it might happen.

O'Neal didn't want to directly address coming to New York out of respect for the Pacers, but said Madison Square Garden was 'one of the most desired atmospheres to play in in basketball.'

According to O'Neal, the Pacers are in trade talks with several teams and it is no secret that Thomas has tried on several occasions to acquire O'Neal, whom he coached for three seasons in Indiana. O'Neal's high school coach, George Glymph, is on Thomas' staff.

Now, on to those problems. The Daily News mentions there might be some issues getting Isiah Thomas and Larry Bird to the same table to put a deal together, but I would imagine any dislike would only make them eager to pull some shenanigans over on the other one. That aside, who the hell is Larry going to take back for JON and his 19 million dollar deal? The only really logical notion would be Zach Randolph, but, um, he doesn't really fit the image that Indy has been trying to shed recently. No offense to Z-Bo, of course.

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.
Cup of Coffee
Jamario Moon appears to be, dare I say ... on the rise again? Ahh. I kill me. Sorry. Anyway, Moon scored 11 points with five boards plus a block and steal each last night and is now seeing a whopping 38.6 minutes per game through January. Yes, it is early, but it sure seems like the Raptors do not want to let his talents ... wane on the bench? Okay, okay, I'm done. Seriously though, if he got dropped go add him. Or better yet, just trade for him. He's a roto-gold mine with his block and steal numbers, he hustles every night, and you get to care about your team. That's important sometimes.

Hot Cakes
J.R. Smith sighting last night -- the gunner scored 21 points for his first plus-twomp game since November 30, and only his third of the season. He did it in 28 minutes, which means he still has yet to crack 30 on the season; his fantasy value has been limited as a three point specialist but with Nene Hilario likely out for an extended period of time following the removal of a testicular tumor and Kenyon Martin dealing with a staph infection, Smith could start seeing some minutes. Make a move for him now before the competition figures out what's going on.

So, this LeBron James guy, he is some kinda good huh? You probably want to think about starting him. I hate giving obvious unnecessary fantasy analysis, but when a guy throws up a 51/8/9 line, you gotta give a shoutout.

A possible Allan Houston comeback was a major summer storyline. When the Knicks became his likely destination, it was moderately exciting. Now, it looks like it might end, due to a typically controversial Isiah Thomas decision. Instead of going with the big name looking for a final shot, Thomas is keeping Fred Jones, acquired as an afterthought in the Zach Randolph deal.

From the Daily News:

Houston and Demetris Nichols, the aforementioned draft pick from Syracuse, are both trying to make a roster that already includes the maximum 15 guaranteed contracts. For weeks, it was generally assumed that Jones, portrayed as a throw-in in the Zach Randolph trade, would be the odd man out.

But Jones' relationship with Thomas goes back to their Indiana Pacer days and there is something to be said for being an "Isiah guy." Just ask Knicks VP of basketball operations Glen Grunwald or assistant coaches Brendan Suhr and Mark Aguirre.

Jones won the Dunk Contest in 2004, and has been known at times to put up twenty-point games. However, Isiah wants to make him into a defensive specialist, since Jared Jeffries isn't really one. The good news is that Thomas is addressing something other than scoring; unfortunately, he's relying on a natural-born scorer to do so.

Are you ready for this? You might want to sit down. Here goes: the Blazers have agreed to trade Juan Dixon to the Raptors in exchange for Fred Jones. Boo-yah! Okay, so maybe you won't be telling your grandchildren where you were the day the fabled "Jones for Dixon" trade went down, but that doesn't mean this is an insignificant deal.

For the Raptors, they get to tweak their bench for the stretch run, which for the first time in a while doesn't mean counting how many extra ping-pong balls they'll get after every loss. Dixon is small for a two-guard, but he is a proven scorer with range, and his contract is up after next year, as opposed to the two years left on Jones' deal.

Jones is more of a slasher, and though he's averaging 22.7 minutes per game this year, he slipped in the rotation and has averaged less than seven minutes per game in January and February. He still has upside, though, and for the Blazers there's the added bonus that he's a hometown kid -- he went to high school in suburban Portland and played four years for the University of Oregon.

All told, a change of scenery was probably needed for both players, and while minor, this should be one of those rare deals that benefits both teams -- even if incrementally.

Earlier:
Open the Floodgates: Mavs' Johnson to the Hawks
Suns Enter Kidd Trade Talks to Block Lakers