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.
There are two generally accepted ways to massively improve your team's chances during the summer offseason: draft new talent, or acquire new talent by trade or free agency. But the Wizards -- my choice for most improved team of 2009-10 -- have tapped a little-known third way: let all your injured stars return to health.
That was the biggest factor in the return of the Heat, 2008-09's most improved team: Dwyane Wade got healthy, and the team got back to contention. The Wiz stand at the start of a similar path, with Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood ready to roll. Of course, Wade is more vital than either. But together, it's like signing two major free agents at arguably the two most hard-to-fill positions.
There was a lot of activity in the NBA this week, and we're not just talking about the draft. Some of the NBA's big names and better teams were in on it.
Here's a quick look at the trades that went down and what they mean:
The Thinking: The Cavaliers get an aging O'Neal, with the hope that he can have a productive year playing alongside LeBron James. The only way this trade is a success is if the Cavaliers are the 2009-10 NBA champions. For the Suns, trading O'Neal means that they are beyond tinkering and are leaning toward turning over the personnel of a team that missed the playoffs last season.
For those of us hoping that the draft would bring some exciting developments, it has at least started with a relative bang. And for Minnesota fans, it has brought with it the "good" exciting, rather than the "oh, what's that funny feeling in my stomach, oh, it's vomit" exciting. You know, their usual kind.
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HEADLINER Detroit at Minnesota, 8PM ET
There's a hefty slate of games, with some ramifications and all that. But I'm serious here. Minnesota has been out of its mind of late, with only that truly putrid start under Randy Wittman keeping these cats off the airwaves. Logic and math say the Wolves are too far back to matter, but logic and math's mother wears combat boots.
A report from the US Airways Center in Phoenix, where the Timberwolves faced the Suns on January 16th.
At first glance, you probably wouldn't have expected the Timberwolves to go into Phoenix and beat the Phoenix Suns as they did on Friday night. After all, Minnesota was just 11-26 before this one, and the Suns -- though up and down at times -- have begun to figure things out and seem to be a team on the rise.
But if Minnesota's win was really that much of a surprise, you probably haven't been paying close attention.
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.
What happens when of the best post players in the game gets single covered by one of the league's worst defenses? Total domination. And that's exactly what Pau Gasol did to the hapless Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night. Gasol tore up the pitiful Warriors defense to the tune of 33 points on 12 for 21 shooting. Gasol also grabbed 18 boards during his 39 minutes of play.
Danny Granger is Clutch:Danny Granger continues to make his bid for a spot on the All-Star team. 37 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 1 block seems all-star enough. But when you start hitting game winners on the road, folks are going to start paying attention. On a redo of the 2005 NBA Draft, who gets drafted higher: Deron Williams, Andrew Bynum, or Danny Granger?
Randy Foye Matches Career High:Randy Foye continued his hot streak, dropping 32 points and 6 assists on the Thunder. Foye also hit 6 of his 9 three point attempts. Foye might not be a point guard, but dude can definitely score. Foye has averaged 23.3 points and 4.3 assists in January, helping the Wolves win all four games they've played this month. Maybe Roy for Foye wasn't so bad after all? Naaahhhh, I won't go that far yet.
The opening locale for our NBA Preview tour hosts a championship contender ... unless you believe in Vegas, where two teams have odds of at least 18-to-1 to win the title. Bettors have Utah at 18-to-1 and Portland, ahem Portland at 12-to-1. Clearly, folks expect big things from the newborn Trail Blazers.
That brings us to our first topic: how good will Portland be? The Blazers caught much of the nation off-guard last year, with a long winning streak through the early winter keeping the team alive in the rough Western playoff race. Clearly, Portland overperformed based on common expectation. Is that even possible this year? Win or lose, the Blazers will likely get more attention than any other Northwest team this season. The burgeoning tomorrow promises excitement, and no one wants to miss out the introduction of greatness. No pressure, kids.
The Timberwolves somehow went from being the spunky underrated team with lots of young pieces to the overrated, likely-to-regress squad in inside of a year, despite jettisoning Antoine Walker, Marko Jaric, and adding Kevin Love and Mike Miller. Go figure.
The haters have one more reason to pile on the squad, though, as Al Jefferson will enter the year banged up. Jefferson had an MRI yesterday and it revealed an MCL sprain in his right knee which will keep him out up to the next three weeks. Good thing they're not a young team trying to get new pieces to gel together before the season starts. Whoops.
It's a minor injury though, and the young star should be back to full strength before the season starts, unlike some people who will remain nameless but who's name is synonymous with a Japanese grill. And with Mike Miller an upgrade at shooting guard, Kevin Love and the outlet pass of doom, Randy Foye back to full strength, and the rest of the youngsters with another year together, there's no room to think the Wolves will regress from, if not exceed last year's win total. Still, it's not the way you want to start a year.
What? It's the slow season. We can't only talk about drugs or the Star Spangled Banner.
Crystal Ballin'takes a team-by-team look at what should, could, and probably will happen in the June 26th NBA Draft.
Ah. The Land of Lakes. Where anything can happen. The first rounder could be O.J. Mayo, it could be Michael Beasley, it could be Kevin Love, it could be Larry Bird or it could be traded straight up for Joe Smith a few first rounders. Seriously, Kevin McHale could do anything. But ... oddly, the Wolves might be set up to have a pretty freaking good draft this year if they play their cards right.
Picks: #3, #31, #34 Needs: Assuming they think either Randy Foye or Sebastian Telfair will work out (and they'll probably go through with the experiment anyway even if they don't) at point, they'll look for frontcourt depth (and defense) to compliment Al Jefferson. They also need a legit scorer to keep A's in the seats, though, and that's something they might address first.
Best case scenario: McHale stays away from the phone lines and ends up with either O.J. Mayo or Michael Beasley. Mayo gives them a safety net if Foye/Telfair fail and Beasley would be a pretty nasty tandem with Baby Al down low and allows them to look for frontcourt help (Roy Hibbert?) late in the first round when they package 31 and 34 to move back up.
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 It's not like Chris Wilcox got demoted, technically. It is just that Nick Collison fits the role of center better. But Wilcox, for whatever reason, stopped starting. And Collison played very well. And the Sonics lost 14 straight games. Wilcox started last night at forward, and the Sonics beat the defending champion Spurs, while the ex-Terp recorded 16 points and 10 boards in 31 minutes. If the Sonics are winning when he is out there, he will play, and his value will take a big boost. If you have a discontent owner looking to move him, take a flier for cheap.
Hot Cakes I know, I know. Leon Powe should have made the headline because I will not get another chance. I actually really like Powe, but he is not going to see any run with the "Big 3" around, barring a major injury. So unless you are in a daily league (in which case you should consider him for the C's next game) you can ignore his 25 and 11. It is nice to see Tony Allen back and scoring well already though, I must admit. And actually Allen, who would fill in for Ray Allen, is a better free agent option if you need to add someone.
Nate Robinson continued to be a monster, racking up 22 points with nine assists in 36 minutes off the bench Tuesday night. Robinson, averaging nearly 20 points and seven assists over his last three, should be starting for all teams while he is hot.
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.
There was a lot of activity in the NBA this week, and we're not just talking about the draft. Some of the NBA's big names and better teams were in on it.
For those of us hoping that the draft would bring some exciting developments, it has at least started with a relative bang. And for Minnesota fans, it has brought with it the "good" exciting, rather than the "oh, what's that funny feeling in my stomach, oh, it's vomit" exciting. You know, their usual kind. 
FanHouse's 
A report from the US Airways Center in Phoenix, where the Timberwolves faced the Suns on January 16th.
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the lig. 
The Timberwolves somehow went from being the spunky underrated team with lots of young pieces to the overrated, likely-to-regress squad in inside of a year, despite jettisoning 
B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. 
