The NBA season is a mere two days old, but the dunk I'm about to show you that Carmelo Anthony threw down over Paul Millsap on Wednesday is in fact, the dunk of the year.
'Melo said after the game, "Once I got the steal, I knew it was just me and him,'' Anthony said. "I wasn't going to lay the ball up. I was going to try to dunk it. If he'd have blocked it, he'd have blocked it. It went the opposite way."
But don't take my word for it: after watching the video, you can read what Dwight Howard and Quentin Richardson had to say about it, via updates they made to their respective Twitter pages after seeing the sensational highlight.
Heading into the season, Boozer's status is the biggest issue surrounding the team. He said during radio interviews during the summer that he wouldn't mind ending up in Chicago or Miami, and that Jazz officials told him they were looking to trade him.
The forward, though, didn't get moved. And now he's saying that, if the Jazz keep him throughout the season, impressive things can happen in Utah.
"If they keep us together, we can be very good,'' he said.
As draft day nears it's important to know where to find the best value. Once you've built your foundation early on in the draft, your next step is to fill in categories and find players who complement your core guys. If your team is built around bigs with high field-goal percentages, rebound rates and shot-blocking abilities, you might want to exploit that by adding another value big man later in the draft. In head-to-head leagues your goal is to win each week, whether it be 5-3 or 6-3 or 8-0. Just win.
At the same right you don't want to leave the draft without depth at any position. Today I'm going to give you five late-round value sleepers at the power forward position who should outperform their average draft position. I used Mock Draft Central (MDC) and Yahoo! Sports (Y!) as a reference point.
SALT LAKE CITY -- It was a typical listless preseason crowd when the Utah Jazz opened last week at EnergySolutions Arena. But some fans did get riled up enough to express displeasure whenever forward Carlos Boozer's name was called.
"That's how they cheer me. They say 'Boo,''' cracked Boozer, making a play on his name.
At least Boozer is trying to keep it light these days after an offseason in which things got heavy.
The remaining dominoes in the notable NBA free agency set are starting to fall.
Thursday night the Utah Jazz matched Portland's front-heavy $32 million offer to restricted free agent forward Paul Millsap. The move accomplishes the Jazz's goal of keeping Millsap, who's younger, more reliable, and has more upside and oomph than his counterpart, Carlos Boozer. The move also means that just as Boozer has indicated to the press recently, his bags are packed, he just needs a destination.
The question is, what are the next pieces to fall?
That salvo in large type came in a Carlos Boozer interview on ESPN's Chicago affiliate. Last weekend, the Salt Lake Tribune cited Jazz sources claiming Boozer had a ticket for the first train outta Utah. Boozer's confirmation is icing, and we ought to get used to the thought: Boozer opted in, but the Jazz are opting out.
The thrust of Boozer's appearance on a Chicago-based show emphasizes the current conventional wisdom, that the Bulls would be the best depot for the Booz Train to pull into. It will, of course, be tricky, as Utah needs to expunge salary while earning even a minor, minor prize in the swap. The Bulls are well over the cap this season, so a third team must get involved. Who could it be?
LAS VEGAS -- Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak was sitting courtside watching the Clippers' future franchise player, Blake Griffin, drop 17 first-half points on his Lakers. And the person who may defend Griffin in the paint during the regular season doesn't look any more closer to returning to the Lakers than last week.
Lamar Odom remains an unrestricted free agent and Kupchak said progress has come to a halt, despite Trevor Ariza leaving L.A. for the Houston Rockets last week. Odom is free to sign with any team and may be the league's most attractive free agent on the market. Still, Kupchak appeared bleak when asked about the prospects of bringing Odom back, which could be critical to the Lakers' chances of defending their NBA title.
"The word I used last week was 'hopeful' so let's take it from there," he said Monday at the Thomas & Mack Center. "I am really not sure where we are right now. We have made no plans to talk [with his representatives]."
LAS VEGAS -- Expect the Utah Jazz to match the Portland Trail Blazers' offer sheet for forward Paul Millsap. The Blazers offered Millsap a front-loaded four-year deal at about $33 million. The Jazz badly want to retain Millsap and will match if it can find a taker for Carlos Boozer.
Ross Siler of the Salt Lake Tribune has a great summation of Jazz thinking with regard to the power forward position. As expected, Carlos Boozer seems to be on his way out while that seemingly daunting Portland offer sheet for Paul Millsap isn't actually terribly daunting.
Siler reports Jazz boss Greg Miller told Boozer the All-Star isn't in the team's long-term plans, and agreed to try to trade him. I would not expect Utah to have trouble; even at $12 million, Boozer is too good to languish without suitors. But more interesting is Millsap's position in all of this.
As has been rumored for the better part of a week, Portland has thrown its cap space at Jazz restricted free agent Paul Millsap, a burly forward who has come off Utah's bench behind Carlos Boozer much of his career. Millsap's rep has grown over the last few years, and a big platform created by Boozer's injuries this season have made a substantial payday -- four years, $32-34 million -- possible.
The question now is whether Portland's offer sheet (signed by Millsap Friday) is big enough to keep Utah from matching. I don't think it is.
The NBA season is a mere two days old, but the dunk I'm about to show you that Carmelo Anthony threw down over Paul Millsap on Wednesday is in fact, the dunk of the year. 
FanHouse 
As draft day nears it's important to know where to find the best value. Once you've built your foundation early on in the draft, your next step is to fill in categories and find players who complement your core guys. If your team is built around bigs with high field-goal percentages, rebound rates and shot-blocking abilities, you might want to exploit that by adding another value big man later in the draft. In head-to-head leagues your goal is to win each week, whether it be 5-3 or 6-3 or 8-0. Just win. 
SALT LAKE CITY -- It was a typical listless preseason crowd when the 
The remaining dominoes in the notable NBA free agency set are starting to fall. 
That salvo in large type came in a 
LAS VEGAS -- Lakers general manager 
Gary Washburn empties his notebook from the 
Ross Siler of the Salt Lake Tribune has 
As has been rumored for the better part of a week, Portland has thrown its cap space at Jazz restricted free agent 
