As teams get eliminated from the 2009 NBA playoff picture, Fork 'Em figures out what went wrong. "If the whole human race lay in one grave, the epitaph on its headstone might well be: 'It seemed a good idea at the time.'" -Rebecca West
Bryan Colangelo either laughs or weeps at this quote after the Raptors 2008-2009 season.
I mean, it DID seem like a good idea at the time, right? You're a playoff team, on the verge of contention. You have a legit superstar in Chris Bosh. You have an up and coming point guard in Jose Calderon, a core of veterans alongside sharpshooter Jason Kapono, and a young stud in Jamario Moon. All they needed was to jettison that black hole, T.J. Ford and minimize that bust Andrea Bargnani. And if they could do all that and upgrade their frontcourt with some muscle, that would be idea.
The Rotation is a weekly study on the NBA by one of our All-Star voices. In rotation this week is Brett Pollakoff.
With just six weeks left in the grind that is the NBA's regular season, it's time to start having the MVP conversation. LeBron James and Kobe Bryant will likely be the first two names mentioned when this hotly debated topic is brought up, but they shouldn't be -- not this season. If you've been paying attention, Dwyane Wade is the league's most valuable player, and it's really not even that close.
PHOENIX -- In the final segment of my interview with Chris Bosh, we discussed the important stuff: how his current season is going with the Raptors. Bosh is very candid in admitting that this isn't exactly how he imagined the season would play out, but with the recent trade that sent Jermaine O'Neal out of town to Miami for Shawn Marion, there might be time to turn it around.
Bosh also told me when he's planning on coming back from his knee injury (hint: soon), and answered one of the hot topics this season: Kobe or LeBron? Our conversation, after the jump.
PHOENIX -- With virtually the entire NBA descending on Phoenix for the beginning of All-Star weekend, the word of Friday's deal between the Heat and the Raptors came early and spread quickly to the hordes of people in attendance.
While everyone probably has an opinion about whether the trade will truly benefit either team, most of them are, quite frankly, irrelevant. One person's opinion that does matter however, is that of Heat superstar Dwyane Wade. And since he was part of the day's All-Star media availability, I got the chance to ask him about it.
The Heat gets the deal's best player, ready to help Dwyane Wade contend today. Phoenix gets what it has wanted -- cap space (Marion's deal ends this summer) and a cheap, young stud. But what exactly is Memphis doing here?
It's been four days since word leaked that the Heat and Raptors were discussing a Shawn Marion for Jermaine O'Neal swap, which in Internet time is the equivalent of four weeks. So much for the trade being imminent, huh? What separates this trade from most rumors, though, is that the word came from O'Neal himself, who apparently told friends he anticipated the trade to happen soon.
Miami is apparently worried about O'Neal's health, though, which is a perfectly valid concern for a guy who's averaged more than 30 missed games the last four years, not to mention 11 of the last 12 this month. Miami is so worried, in fact, that they're reportedly re-considering all of their options, including a potential deal with Dallas for Josh Howard.
Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski reports Miami boss Pat Riley is seriously considering sending Shawn Marion to Toronto in exchange for Jermaine O'Neal. That the Raptors want to exile J.O. is not a surprise; the match with Chris Bosh has been nothing like a match, and Andrea Bargnani's sudden arrival makes the $20 million man superfluous at best.
That begs the question, though: why on Earth would Riley pick O'Neal of all available centers?
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.
LeBron James' big day (as if the other 364 are not) was ruined by Dwyane Wade's friends. Wade had a fine game himself (21/5/12), but Mario Chalmers, Miami's starting forwards and Daequan Cook made the real difference in the Heat win.
Chalmers had 21 points on 9 FGAs, and went 6-7 from three. He also had eight assists, three steals and (this is the big one) zero turnovers. On any night, that's lovely. Against an elite defense like Cleveland, that's incredible. Cook helped with some more sharp outside shooting -- 5-7 from three, 17 points on 9 FGAs -- while Udonis Haslem and Shawn Marion did exactly what they need to: Cleveland had only eight offensive rebounds in 40 opportunities. Great work on the glass for the typically iffy Heat.
Shaq Saves Lives: ... or at least Phoenix, down Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire (who earned an ejection in the second quarter). Shaquille O'Neal racked up 24 points on 13 FGAs, shot 8-10 from the line, pulled 13 rebounds and swatted three Grizz shots. Perhaps most importantly, he did all that playing big minutes (38) on the second night of a back-to-back. Diesel is gunning for an All-Star berth.
Sucker Free: A Chris Paul triple-double (15/10/16) no longer shocks anyone. But figure this: Paul had a direct hand in 32 of New Orleans' offensive possessions. He had two turnovers in those 32 possessions. Simply outrageous.
The Cavaliers have emerged as an elite team, allowing the fewest points per game while boasting one of the league's most potent offenses. But you know what's really scary? They might be getting even better.
Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Cavs and Heat have discussed a deal that could bring Shawn Marion to Cleveland. Why wouldn't the Heat just wait and capitalize on Marion's $17.1 million expiring contract this summer?
Because by trading Marion, they'll likely be able to create even more space: Wojnarowski reports that talks have centered on Wally Szczerbiak (and his $13 million expiring deal) and Anderson Varejao (who's all but certain to opt out of the final year of his contract, which would pay him $6.2 million).
As teams get eliminated from the 2009 NBA playoff picture, Fork 'Em figures out what went wrong.
FanHouse is coming to you live from Phoenix, covering the 
On Thursday, reports indicated that 
It's been four days since word leaked that the Heat and Raptors were discussing a 
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the lig. 
The Cavaliers have emerged as an elite team, allowing the fewest points per game while boasting one of the league's most potent offenses. But you know what's really scary? They might be getting even better. 
