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.
David West took a bad step in the second quarter. A really bad step -- he could barely jog through the second half, limping heavily. Like it mattered.
West played nearly the entire second half on one leg, scoring 19 points in that span to finish with 40 on the game. He added nine rebounds and six assists, helping New Orleans remain in position to beat Sacramento, which it did on a Rasual Butler three at the buzzer. On the game-winner with the Hornets down two, West managed to screen off two Kings in the paint. An unbelievable performance from West at a time when his team (missing Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakovic) couldn't possibly survive another injury.
Each Wednesday, the second part of our Under The Microscope series looks at a different player in the National Basketball Association and examines them in the context of a game that week. Wednesday night the Indiana Pacers beat the Detroit Pistons in overtime, and we kept track of Danny Granger. Here's a look at how Granger's night ended up. You can read part one of this week's UtM here.
The locker room can be a gross place, swimming with musk and communicable disease. It's actually amazing more basketball teams don't come down with group illness, given the travel, the near-daily physical exertion and the close quarters on and off the court. But Indiana has fallen victim to team flu, with Troy Murphy, Danny Granger and Marquis Daniels -- three of the team's top four scorers -- being hospitalized Friday.
None played Friday or Saturday, but the healthy Pacers represented the team well. On Friday, the Pacers took the Clippers to double overtime before submitting. Last night in Philadelphia, the short-handed squad came from behind to beat the Sixers 95-94.
T.J. Ford was questionable with a sore groin before the game, but played and put up 25 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals. He also had the game-clinching shot over Andre Iguodala with a couple seconds left.
Even though the team's playing strong without its best weapons, I think the Simon brothers will be investing in some hand sanitizer and Vitamin C.
The level of bidding T.J. Ford sparked this summer seems a bit of a sham. Obviously, concerns about his spine should be a factor in considering his services; proper prudence on matters of possibly dire health is key. Thirty missed games two years after a real serious neck injury -- that's unnerving enough for me, too. But Ford has come back from each injury sparkling, and the concept of "injury histories" are mostly overblown. (See: Marcus Camby, Antonio McDyess, Steve Nash.)
This is to say that when Ford is on the court (often), he is simply spectacular. For a small (demerit) guard who can't shoot (demerit) or defend (demerit), you'd be hard pressed to find a more able lead for your backcourt. Despite playing in an offense ill-suited to his unique skills, Ford tallied a PER above 20 last season ... no small feat. Toronto under Sam Mitchell runs a slow offense, predicated on a surprising amount of isolation, draw-and-kick and high pick-and-roll play. Despite the presence of Bryan Colangelo and his Nash-style point (Ford), this was no Phoenix North.
So, if under Mitchell Ford could be an excellent offensive player, how will things go in Indiana? Well, Jim O'Brien likes to play fast -- transition offense, defensive gambling, early threes encouraged. Ford loves to gamble and is at his best in the open court (so long as Al Horford's not around). By all indications, Ford is as good a fit for Indiana's up-tempo affair as anyone. I can imagine a team that guns and slips to the rim every time down, with T.J. running the show like a Broadway choreographer.
For O'Neal, this is the fresh start he's been waiting years for. He's still a capable big man, and working in tandem with Chris Bosh means he doesn't have to shoulder the load under a body riddled with injuries.
For Ford, this settles the question of whether the Raptors wanted him or Jose Calderon. Ford has still proven he can be capable, and he goes to a team rebuilding, again, but with a lot of talent, again. The Pacers are very quietly building a considerably deep backcourt. Now they just have to do something with it. There's a lot of talk about how this is a win-win situation, but that's only if O'Neal stays healthy. If he does, though, the Raptors will have a frontcourt that could destroy small worlds. Likewise, TJ Ford has to prove his neck is up to go full speed. So many questions, and we're not even to draft night yet. Hang on to your hats, folks. This one's about to get rocky.
When Portland acquired the #27 pick, we knew something was about to get cracking. Kevin Pritchard isn't waiting until the last minute either, apparently lobbying New Jersey for its #10 pick so it can snatch away Texas point guard D.J. Augustin. Via The Oregonian, Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski places in the current talks Portland's #13 and #33 picks and Jarrett Jack, in exchange for New Jersey's #10 and Trenton Hassell. (Portland's recently acquired #27 pick, then, isn't in play. It does allow the Blazers to take a favored foreign player -- like Nicolas Batum? -- in that late spot, though.)
Wojnarowski focuses on what this means for Indiana, who had been thought to have settled on Augustin with #11. But with the T.J. Ford acquisition, how interested in Augustin -- another diminutive fellow, a possible defensive liability -- would the Pacers even be, especially considered the instant dearth of size the parting of Jermaine O'Neal leaves? But Sacramento at #12 -- one spot ahead of Portland currently -- would not have let Augustin remain on the board, especially given renewed concerns about the hardball tactics possible with free agent Beno Udrih.
Also of note: Wojnarowski cites a "Western Conference executive" who warns of Charlotte choosing Augustin at #9. Pardon me for reading too deeply into the bones, but ... might this source be Sacramento's Geoff Petrie, trying to fright Pritchard into backing up the #10 pick by suggesting it'd be a waste for Portland? If so or if not, the gamesmanship is most certainly on.
Dwyer at Ball Don't Lie explains why this is such a good deal for Toronto, which needs some defense badly. So let me explain my thoughts on why this works beautifully for Indiana, with an assist from Indy Cornrows, who writes:
Forget all the numbers, cap space, draft picks and expiring contracts for a moment. A deal like this has an aesthetic impact on the Pacers that is hard to quantify. When the two strongest personalities in the organization don't get along, it's a drag on everyone, fans included. I love Jermaine O'Neal and I love Larry Bird, but when it's apparent they don't get along you're almost forced to pick a side. It becomes an unmentionable black cloud hanging over the team and has to have at least a subtle impact on the team.
Sometimes, these clean breaks cause ephemeral periods of holy enlightenment for Earthbound teams weighed down by an old general. Remember Philadelphia? The post-Iverson burst had little to do with reality; in retrospect, I'd venture the mere removal of the long franchise shadow allowed the rest of the team to see the sun for the first time. While the terminal glow can't support itself, it can support future growth, as it has in Philly.
Also: Indiana really needs a point guard. The Pacers already play at a high tempo; Ford's one of the most efficient high-tempo lead guards in the league. And if you're worried about injury risk, um, you're trading Jermaine O'Neal, who played 42 games for the low, low price of $19.7 million last year. Considering Rasho has an expiring contract, and Ford's deal is not too long, this baby needs no more thought.
Rumors are a dime twelve dozen this time of year, but the Arizona Republic has published this morning a dazzling little slice of speculation: the Suns have considered sending Boris Diaw to Toronto in exchange for T.J. Ford and the #17 pick.
Diaw and Leandro Barbosa are the Suns on the block, and talk out of Steve Kerr's breath has indicated Phoenix wants another first-rounder or a higher pick than their current 15th selection. Most rumors to date have Barbosa being given away -- a problematic endeavor considering Leandrinho's the closest thing to a back-up point the Suns have got. And, as we've repeated in each of the past five summers: Steve Nash isn't getting any younger.
That's what makes the rumored Ford deal so entrancing: T.J. won't bristle behind Nash the way he did backing up Jose Calderon, and he's so young (25) that he's a budding heir who can learn from (one of) the best. Meanwhile, Diaw could be a major upgrade from the Jamario Moon-Jason Kapono-Joey Graham gauntlet which manned the small forward slot last season.
Armed with #15, #17 and Barbosa, Phoenix would still be well-poised to slide up into the top 10. New York needs bodies galore -- wouldn't the #6 pick for a Sixth Man of the Year and two solid mid-first choices do wonders?
After winning 47 games in 2006-07, the Raptors regressed to an even .500 record this year, in part because of injuries to Jorge Garbajosa, Chris Bosh and T.J. Ford. That said, no matter how well they played, there was no catching the Boston Celtics, who won the division by 25 games.
How They Got to the Dance: By being in the Eastern Conference. A 41-41 record would have left the Raps on the outside looking in were they in the West, but it was good enough to result in a No. 6 seed in the East. That said, there's no doubt that there's enough talent on this team to make the playoffs every year, but they need their key guys to stay durable, and it wouldn't hurt if Andrea Bargnani would finally live up to his No. 1 pick status.
How They Got Bounced:Dwight Howard is without a doubt the most dominant center in the NBA today. There aren't a lot of teams who can slow him down, let alone the Raptors, who are used to playing a more of a finesse game. Howard put up three 20-20 games in the series, helping the Magic dominate the boards while a crew of sharpshooters fired away from three-point land.
A crush of rumors about the future of the Toronto point guard position has been months in the making, first spurred by Jose Calderon's masterful work during T.J. Ford's unfortunate injury absence, then stoked by Ford's (quiet) bristling at coming off the bench behind Calderon. Some Bryan Colangelo comments captured by the Toronto Sun's Frank Zicarelli offer the strongest evidence Ford will be on the market this summer.
Colangelo understands and applauds Ford's desire to be No. 1, but at the same time Colangelo is going to do what's best for the Raptors. "At the end of the day it's how can he and Jose co-exist,'' Colangelo said. "If, in fact, that's a possibility."
Colangelo then added some very telling words. "It's a very safe assumption that Jose will be back in a Raptor uniform."
Calderon's a restricted free agent, and (unless Shawn Marion or Elton Brand opt out) no team will head into July with both cap space and a pressing need at point guard. If that's the case, the only thing that would stop the Raptors from keeping Calderon is Calderon demanding too much money (something that, for some reason, seems unlikely).
Ford's the guy to go, and plenty of towns would invite the upgrade ... for the right price. Injury concerns related to his tricky spine will never disappear; still, he's a fantastic point guard -- one of the fastest guys in the league and an always improving shooter, distributor and passing-lane disruptor. The Knicks, Heat, Clippers (depending on Shaun Livingston), and Kings (depending on Beno Udrih) make sense, on first glance. (Whether Colangelo chases Mike D'Antoni could affect this whole scenario, as well.)
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.
Each Wednesday, the second part of our 
The locker room can be a gross place, swimming with musk and communicable disease. It's actually amazing more basketball teams don't come down with group illness, given the travel, the near-daily physical exertion and the close quarters on and off the court. But Indiana has fallen victim to team flu, with 
The rumors had been fluttering for the past 24 hours, and it's apparently a done deal. 
When Portland acquired the #27 pick, 
While Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski says 
Rumors are a dime twelve dozen this time of year, but the Arizona Republic has published this morning 
A crush of rumors about the future of the Toronto point guard position has been months in the making, first spurred by 
