FanHouse RajaBell

As teams get eliminated from the 2009 NBA playoff picture, Fork 'Em figures out what went wrong.

"Love bravely, live bravely, be courageous, there's really nothing to lose." -Jewel

And really, what says "Charlotte Bobcats" like Jewel?

The Lottery is littered with teams that failed to meet expectations. Their hopes broken, their efforts for naught, they're left with nothing but frustration and depression. They limp towards the offseason with hope for nothing more than pina coladas and getting caught in the rain.

You don't get that feeling from the Bobcats.

A clever rumor from Frank Isola of the New York Daily News cites a source who indicates the Bobcats rushed their deal for Boris Diaw and Raja Bell through in order to leave enough cushion before the deadline to flip the new players. The trade deadline is February 19.

Players acquired by trade during the season cannot be packaged with another player in a second trade until 60 days have passed. The Bobcats completed the Diaw/Bell trade last Wednesday, which gave them 70 days until the deadline.

But where on Earth could Diaw and/or Bell be headed? Alan Hahn of Newsday has the predictable suggestion.

The Knicks were very much interested in acquiring both Raja Bell and Boris Diaw, but with Mike D'Antoni now in New York after a bitter divorce from the Suns, they were not going to come directly from Phoenix. [...]

Another source has said the Bobcats have maintained interest in Eddy Curry, who has yet to play this season because of a bone bruise in his left knee.

And scene. If this happens -- any of the old Suns to N.Y. for Curry -- Charlotte's moves begin to make sense and infuriate all the more. Jason Richardson is a phenomenal scorer, the best the Bobcats had by a big margin. Curry's only attribute is scoring. It's just like Larry Brown to prefer a post scorer to a guard gunner.

And while that's good basketball theory, he's ignoring that Curry (who he dealt with in N.Y.) is a huge defensive liability who cannot rebound or block shots, while Richardson was a tough dude with a good spirit and some floor skills. No one on the planet could argue the Bobcats would win a Richardson-for-Curry trade. But then again, no one thought Charlotte won the Diaw-for-Richardson swap either.

When a trade goes down like Wednesday's five-player deal between the Suns and the Bobcats, it has ramifications beyond those of the players involved simply changing zip codes. The teams have to make the adjustment of bringing the new players into their family unit, and the players that remain need to come to grips with the fact that people they trusted on the court and befriended off of it are no longer a part of the family.

It seems that no one realizes this more than Steve Nash.

Nash will tell you himself that he was pretty stunned by the news of the trade, as Raja Bell was his best friend on the team, and left town without a proper goodbye. (Bell texted Nash from the airport, as he didn't want to wake him from his pregame nap.) Nash admitted after Wednesday night's game against the Lakers that he was "emotionally drained," and his 2-of-12 shooting backed up that assertion.

The surprise of the loss of a close friend being shipped out of town without warning likely makes one think about what else might be in the pipeline as far as changes are concerned.

You figured that despite his friendship with Steve Nash and cult hero status among Phoenix fans for services rendered, Raja Bell would be happy enough to take up residence in some other NBA town. Bell has been the most vocal critic of the new Steve Kerr/Terry Porter regime, as his role and efficacy have shrunk magnificently in the post-D'Antoni era.

Boris Diaw, though -- his entire career is based on the 2005-06 season in which Mike D'Antoni turned him into a five-position magician. While he has fit in under Porter, you have to think he'd be worried about re-entering the anonymous purgatory of the Eastern Conference dregs with today's trade to Charlotte. But in comments the Arizona Republic collected, Diaw makes it seem like he was over the Suns anyway.

"It definitely wasn't as fun. ... It wasn't as exciting for the fans. It's not as fun for everybody (on the team). I'll always remember Phoenix with Mike (D'Antoni). We went from a winning team that was the most exciting team in the league to a half-winning team that wasn't exciting at all."

Diaw just threw Kerr's promise ring into the river. Meanwhile, Bell seemed level and gracious to the old squad. Before tip-off of Lakers-Suns on ESPN, it was noted that Nash looked like someone shot his dog. (I'm paraphrasing here.) And of course, Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley have stopped doing back flips only to board to first plane to Arizona.

Diaw seems to be thinking, "Ta' hell with these Suns." I'm almost positive he'll be singing a different tune by the end of the month.

We have our second deal of the NBA day, and it's way more interesting than the first one. It's being reported that the Suns are sending Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, and Sean Singletary to Charlotte, in exchange for Jason Richardson, Jared Dudley, and a second round draft choice in the magical year of 2010.

Steve Kerr explained some of what he likes about J-Rich:

"He's athletic and gives us a really potent offensive player," Suns General Manager Steve Kerr said. "He's also an excellent defensive player and he's in his prime. He's a very high-character guy and well-regarded around the league for his professionalism."

Bell and Diaw both played big minutes in Terry Porter's rotation, but that shouldn't be an issue for Richardson, as he's been averaging over 35 minutes per game this season. Bell has been known as a solid perimeter defender and three-point shooter, but Richardson shoots a similar percentage from downtown, and defends well enough that there shouldn't be too big of a drop-off on that end of the floor.

After the Suns dropped their season opener to the Hornets, there were some rumblings that Raja Bell may not have been on the same page as his new head coach Terry Porter. Bell was yanked in the first quarter of that game after shooting a three-pointer that probably wasn't an ideal shot at the time, and sat for the remainder of the half. He came out and played well in the second half, but remained frustrated after the team's loss, giving a response of "no comment" when asked about his second quarter benching. It appeared there was some heat brewing between Bell and Porter. If that was the case though, everything seems to be just fine now.

Before the Suns' win over the Blazers, when asked if he had to address anything with Raja after the last game, Porter laughed it off and chided the media for trying to make a story out of something that wasn't there.

"Come on man, get off the Raja stuff," Porter said lightheartedly and with a smile. "Enough already with Raja, y'all are killing me with that. We are so good, I mean, there is nothing wrong with Raja and I." If you saw how Raja played against Portland, you would have no choice but to believe that Porter was telling the truth.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Suns-Spurs game tonight.

1. What You Currently Feel Is The Wall Against Your Back. Yes, Still: Okay, let's get this out of the way. I don't think there's any way the Suns beat the Spurs tonight. We've seen San Antonio suck the life out of too many teams, in too many series, to believe they'll even allow the possibility of something exciting to happen. But since I don't want this column to read just about keeping an eye on how many empty seats there are in San Antonio (and there will probably be a few, knowing this crowd), I'll humor the idea. The Suns are against the wall, again. They've been here many times this season, and every time, they've responded. But they also responded last game, and back to back responses is a whole other matter. Especially in San Antonio, versus an embarrassed Spurs club. If the Suns want to win, they can't hold anything back. It all has to be on the floor. No other option. For a Suns team that's known to coast, we'll see if they can hold a consistent energy.

2. Full French > Half-Hill?: The rave on the internet this week is about how Mike D'Antoni finally wised up and started Boris Diaw, and how he's the new savior of the Suns. I got news for you. I'm not buying it. It's fine that Diaw got some good numbers in a blowout game in Game 4. And it's fine that the Spurs let him back down whatever small forward was guarding him in the post. But he won't find that tonight. He's going to find Tim Duncan. At home. Angry. Unless Boris fully embraces the 3, he can't be effective. And even if he does, everyone was so impressed with him guarding Tony Parker. But who guards Manu Ginobili? You really think both of them are going to have back to back bad games? Diaw is not the answer. Someone who can effectively play consistently is.

34-13 is all you need to know about the whoopin' that the Phoenix Suns put on the San Antonio Spurs Sunday afternoon. That was the score after the first half, and even Gregg Popovich acknowledged that it was not so much what the Spurs weren't doing as it was what the Suns were doing. That would be getting ridiculously aggressive and, to use the classic boxing analogy, punching the Spurs hard enough that they didn't get back up and crawl into the ring again.

It reminded me a lot of the Carolina - Kansas Final Four game, honestly, only if Tim Duncan had freaky bug-eyes and an unstoppable Will.

The Suns won 105-86 and the general consensus at the NBA 'Haus is that if there is one team that has a shot at pulling off a comeback down 3-0 to the defending NBA champions, it's these Phoenix Suns. Oh, and by "consensus", I think I actually mean "a few of us delusional enough to hope that evil won't kill good this week."

You know, it's funny. You'd think the Spurs would be pretty happy. They're up 2-0 on the Suns, they look like their old selves, Michael Finley is even knocking down shots again, the Suns have no answer for Manu Ginobili with Grant Hill sidelined with a groin injury, a game 3 win in Phoenix seems likely and even their D-League affiliate is in the championship series. Yet, that's not enough for the defending World Champions.

A report from KSAT in San Antonio states that the Spurs have contacted the league regarding an incident in the third quarter of Game 2, involving Manu Ginobili being hit in the face. Now, what dastardly Sun pulled this? Was it clothesline-happy Raja Bell? Perhaps overly excitable Amare Stoudemire? Or was it the big honking beast, Shaquille O'Neal? No, silly rabbit.

It was Leandro Barbosa. With the takedown. Under the basket.

That's right. The Spurs are claiming that a player who can only effectively be compared to a Keebler Elf was responsible for a dirty play on Manu Ginobili.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Suns at Spurs, Game 2 tonight.

1. Down In A Hole: It's only one game, but it feels like more, doesn't it? I mean, the Suns had the Spurs on the brink, against the wall, down 16, on the road. They weathered the come back and were ahead. Finley hadn't been that hot. Boom. Okay, that's fine. Up again in overtime. No problem. As long as Tim Duncan doesn't hit a three ... Boom. Okay, again, they're tougher than that this year. Big shot by Nash. As long as they don't let Manu just drive to the hole ... game. There's no way the Suns can have woken up the last two days and felt anything but sick with the reality that there's just no way to beat these guys. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see the Suns come out flat and disheartened. They're turning into a Cure song at this point.

2. As The Groin Turns: Well, Manu's groin is fine. Grant Hill? Not so much. Hill tweaked it in game 1, and that was a primary reason why Manu Ginobili went left and scored on the same play about a million times in the last three minutes. It's pretty unlikely that Hill's going to be considerably better, and that means Ginobili may be in line for a huge game. The Suns lack a true shut-down man on him, with Raja Bell not 100%, Leandro Barbosa too small, and Boris Diaw too slow. And they could trap, but that of course would mean waving a giant flag that reads "Please score on us, tiny/old wing men!"