FanHouse JrSmith

The NBA has established itself as the most successful league to integrate itself with social media. The league itself is one of recognizable stars, so it only makes sense that these players further their personal brands through means like Twitter and... ahem... UStream. It's a great opportunity for players to connect with their fans in a meaningful way, on their own terms. As long as they use it responsibly and don't do anything to draw undo negative attention to themselves, it's nothing but a win-win.

In completely unrelated news, Michael Beasley did something that doesn't look too bright right now. Why, do you ask?

FanHouse previews every round of the NBA Playoffs.

Every team of the West has looked invisible next to the Lakers. But Denver and Dallas -- both of which dominated first-round opponents who ranked far more highly in preseason polls -- believe they can beat the Lakers. First, they have to get through each other. The series begins Sunday.

Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.

Denver needed a win to clinch the Northwest title over Portland. Sacramento, fresh off a disappointing last-second loss to the Spurs, provided the muse. The Kings actually stuck around for three quarters and change. Then, J.R. Smith happened.

Smith scored 45 points, 23 of them in the fourth. In total, he shot 11-of-18 from 3-point range, blowing out the fire emanating from his hand by the end of the joint. In the last eight minutes of the game, Smith helped the Nuggets turn a six-point lead into a 20-point victory. The Northwest belongs to Denver.

Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.

J.R. Smith took 14 field goal attempts for Denver last night. Thirteen of those came from behind the arc. He made eight, for a decent 57% shooting clip. But figure the three-pointer's bonus, and holy cow! that's 24 points on 14 shots. He added four FTs for a total of 28. Nuggets win, and remain in pole position for the No. 2 seed.

Deron Williams had 18/10 for the Jazz, and C.J. Miles had his best night in about six weeks with 19 points. It took Carlos Boozer 23 shots to get 15 points. That's a whole lotta misses.

NBA Essentials provides the must-see links, quotes and videos of the day.

* Well, we hope ...: J.R. Smith will take injured Rudy Gay's place in the Dunk Contest. This is what J.R. did in 2005:

While Joe Dumars has put his franchise in a strong position going forward, the Nuggets are going for broke. We're likely to find out the Chauncey Billups-Allen Iverson swap had a driving force from Denver's side: the A.I./Carmelo Anthony combo isn't working well enough to storm the West, and with few movable pieces there was a need to get something for Iverson before he ran off next summer as a high-priced free agent.

Billups is something, alright: one of the top point guards of this era, a killer scorer and playmaker who fits in, plays defense and makes his team more efficient by aura. Whatever boost 'Melo saw when A.I. diverted attention, Billups will increase two-fold. Iverson isn't a great deep shooter; his game is predicated on driving and drawing attention in. Anthony's mid-range game will be in the Louvre some day, but the better benefit would come from a deep gunner. Billups is a career 38.5% three-ball shooter, and he takes almost 4.5 bombs a game. That's going be a huge help in drawing out defenses.

But Billups isn't some young buck: he just turned 32. And while shooting point guards age better than those athletic freaks who live on reverse lay-ups and free throws, Denver's on the hook for Chauncey through 2011-12.

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. Jones on the NBA. Our old friend Nate Jones instigated a fantastic series of posts from around the basketblog world on our favorite arenas. Check it out for sure.

2. Indy Cornrows. One of three necessary occurences for the Pacers to have a chance to win the title, says Cornrows: "Danny Granger goes into a Justice League-inspired zone on invincibility as his game rises to an All-Star level at both ends of the court." Sounds reasonable.

3. Los Angeles Times. Tracy McGrady is showing his Darfur documentary to fellow NBA players, trying to raise money to build schools and train teachers.

4. Examiner. A dude gets put into a foursome with J.R. Smith. Dude hits a hole-in-one. Chest bumps ensue: "'That's the best shot I've ever seen,' said Smith, a man I was beginning to realize was very misunderstood. He was a true gentleman."

5. NetsDaily. Which Nets should be taking the final shot?

6. Forum Blue and Gold. Good memories of Showtime's glue guy, Michael Cooper.

The Nuggets tied up one loose end up re-signing restricted free agent J.R. Smith on Friday. This was expected, but after practically giving Marcus Camby away for free, it was hardly set in stone. GM Mark Warkenstein sounds pleased with his obligatory glowing soundbite:

"We're extremely delighted to have J.R. back," said Warkentien. "His blend of off-the-charts-athleticism and long-range shooting ability is rare, especially for someone his age. We believe his best basketball is still to come."

Did Smith get a good deal? Right now it's impossible to say. Like most teams, the Nuggets have refused to disclose any terms of the contract, not even the length, and no other outlet is filling in the blanks. (Update: The Denver Post reports it's a three-year deal.) But we do know this, courtesy of the Rocky Mountain News:

As of a month ago, Smith said he hasn't gotten an offer from the Nuggets, other than the option to return next season for the $3.04 million qualifying offer. He turned down a three-year extension offer in October worth about $10 million, and there have been no indications the Nuggets are willing to offer a lot more.

My guess? Smith signed for something close to $5 million a season for 2-3 years (Update: It's three years, $16.5 million, per ESPN's Marc Stein). He's only 22 years old, but I doubt he'd want to agree to a longer deal, especially considering the only thing stopping him from getting Ben Gordon money (ie, $10 million plus a year, which Ben Gordon may or may not even get) is minutes. Smith averaged 23.0 points per 36 minutes last year; Gordon, just 21.0. And considering Smith is three inches taller and just as dangerous in the lane as behind the three-point line, there's no question he has loads more long-term upside.

We're well past 'Plan B' for Danny Ferry and the Cleveland Cavaliers' attempts at giving LeBron James some scoring help. We've now moved on to 'Plan Z7652Y, Codename: J.R. Smith.'

The Cleveland Plain-Dealer's Terry Pluto is reporting that the Cavs have decided to pursue Denver's feisty combo guard, since their attempts at Michael Redd and every other valued scorer available on the market have failed.

Smith's a bit of a gamble, with excellent scoring instincts as well as transition skills. The drawback, of course, is a shaky history both with vehicle accidents and coaching disputes. He's a fiery personality, but a huge talent. Your typical NBA conundrum.

The Cavs have been desperate to find a suitable upgrade in the scoring department since last season's mediocre/borderline miserable offensive performance, but have been either unable or unwilling to pull the trigger on anything meaningful. Meanwhile, with the Delonte West saga dragging on, the Cavs' pursuit of Smith has to be seen as at least an indication that the Cavs don't feel particularly hamstrung by West's demands.

I spoke with Smith at Summer League while he was there hanging out with teammates, and while he did say he was focused on returning to Denver this year, he also didn't seem too enthused about the Marcus Camby trade, saying only "That's how things go in this business."

Our weekly check-up on the situation of Ben Gordon leaves us further from resolution than ever before. Shoals of The Sporting Blog expresses dismay over Gordon's self-delusions of grandeur, as Gordon seeks to be the highest-paid Bull after Luol Deng's massive contract was finalized. How far off-base is Gordon, though? I mean, is he good enough to hold out for $11-12 million a year?

Two players: Man A and Man B. Man A is 25 years old, and the other will soon turn 23. On their four-year careers, both shoot a lot -- more than 15 FGAs per 36 minutes. And both score a lot: Man A scores 21 points per 36, and Man B scores 18. Man A has a substantially higher usage rate, and is a better passer. Both stroke the long-ball well (over 40% last season). Man A is a 6'3 two-guard, Man B is 6'6.

Man A is the better player right now, but it's close. As he's older and hasn't improved the last two seasons, you could make the case Men A and B deserve similar salaries. Well, Man A (Ben Gordon) wants to be the highest-paid Bull. Man B (Denver's J.R. Smith) will probably get a $5 million contract from the Nuggets. Beyond the differences are documented above, the only disparity is in minutes: Gordon has played a ton -- almost twice as many minutes as Smith.

Kelly Dwyer -- a Bulls fan who knows stuff -- doesn't think Chicago will end up caving into Gordon. I think that's a good thing. He's a good player, but he's J.R. Smith good. Not Luol Deng good.